Ms. Coll. 762: Rebecca Buckley Ferguson letters, 1747-1819

A transcription of the Buckley-Ferguson letters (1747-1819). Born in the Philadelphia suburbs to William (b. 1713) and Ruth Buckley (d. 1780), Rebecca lived for periods in Essequibo and Demerara in Guyana and resided in New York after her marriage to James Ferguson in 1792. She is the sister of William Buckley (b. 1745). This collection of correspondence to Rebecca Buckley Ferguson is arranged alphabetically and is from family members and close friends.https://repository.upenn.edu/manuscript_collective_transcription/1001/thumbnail.jp

‘Not Essentially Different From [Her] Sex:’ A Literary Reading of the Rebecca Buckley Ferguson Letters

The Rebecca Buckley Ferguson Letters, a collection of letters at the University of Pennsylvania’s Kislak Center for Rare Books & Manuscripts, detail an important eighteenth century correspondence between a young woman in Philadelphia and her family members at home and abroad. Spanning seventy-two years (1747-1819) and multiple cities, the letters provide important insight into the lives of eighteenth century American women and the slaves they held. The letters discuss major life events within the Buckley family, including births, marriages, and deaths, life on the plantation in British Guinea in the eighteenth century, exchanges and interactions among family slaves, and revolutionary sentiments, especially surrounding the ratification of the constitution in 1788. The letters also hold an especial significance at the University of Pennsylvania for their geographical situation as a part of Philadelphia cultural heritage. This project constitutes a critical re-reading of the letters, applying techniques from comparative literature to these historical documents in order to see what might be gleaned if they were creatively re-read as if they were an American womens’ epistolary novel. The effort draws inspiration from M. NourbeSe Philip’s Zong! and R. Mac Jones and Ray McManus’s Found Anew, hoping to build upon their suggestions of the powers of creative writing – and reading – to reinvigorate difficult historical materials. It responds to recent criticisms of the epistolary genre by Julie Gilbert, Anna Hulseberg, and Jeff Jenson, who argue for the “imagination ... of the reader” as scholarly lens. Sharon Harris and Theresa Gaul have also influenced the project; they write a “[rejection of] the view of letters as historical documents valuable only for revealing information about famous people or events,” rather “[according] letters an independent literary status.

Genetic Imbalances in Endometriosis Detected by Oligonucleotide-Array Based Comparative Genomic Hybridization

Endometriosis is one of the most common gynecological diseases as it is thought to affect up to 15% of the female population. Characterized by the growth and proliferation of endometrial tissue outside of the uterine cavity, it is a complex condition with varying degrees of severity and can affect multiple regions of the body with symptoms ranging from a total lack of symptoms to debilitating pain and infertility. The most accepted theory of how endometriosis initiates is that of retrograde menstruation; however, approximately 90% of women with unobstructed fallopian tubes are thought to have some menstrual debris in the peritoneal cavity. Therefore, this theory does not explain in full why endometriosis occurs in some but not all women who experience retrograde bleeding. Genetic factors are thought to play a major role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis as women with a family history are 5 to 10 times more likely to develop the disease. The goal of this study was to determine if common chromosomal aberrations in the form of additions, deletions, or regions of loss of heterozygosity that may contribute to the establishment or progression of the disease are present in a population of endometriosis patients. DNA was isolated from the peripheral blood of endometriosis patients and endometriosis tissue biopsies, and it was analyzed using oligonucleotide based array comparative genomic hybridization. The results suggest that an addition on chromosome 17p13.3 may play a role in the biological mechanisms involved in endometriosis as it was identified in 75% of the DNA samples obtained from the peripheral blood and 100% of the DNA samples obtained from the tissue biopsies. This chromosomal imbalance is of particular interest as it is located in a region that harbors the tumor suppressor gene, hypermethylated in cancer-1 (HIC-1), whose aberrant expression has been reported in multiple cancers. Endometriosis has long been thought of as a benign disease despite its malignant characteristics, and individuals with endometriosis have been demonstrated to have an increased chance of developing ovarian cancer. This was the first study to examine the DNA from endometriosis patients using oligonucleotide based array comparative genomic hybridization to investigate genetic abnormalities in endometriosis. The findings may provide a novel target for future therapeutic options as well as indicate a link between endometriosis and cancer that has not been previously reported

Investigating the income academic achievement gap: an exploration of the roles of mindfulness and self-concept clarity in low-income college students.

The purpose of the current study was to examine whether linguistic patterns previously associated with trait mindfulness and self-concept clarity in low-income college students’ application essays are associated with academic performance and psychosocial variables. The aims of the study were as follows: 1) Explore relations between linguistic markers that have been previously associated with higher mindfulness/self-concept clarity and GPA and 2) Explore relations between linguistic markers that have been previously associated with higher mindfulness/self-concept clarity and anxiety/depression. Participants were 54 undergraduate students in the Cardinal Covenant program (a scholarship program for students from low-income families) who began college in the fall of 2016. The analyses revealed that none of the hypothesized correlations between linguistic markers previously associated with mindfulness/self-concept clarity and GPA or anxiety/depression were significant. The correlation between linguistic markers associated with trait mindfulness and fall 2016 GPA approached statistical significance (r = -.230, p = .115), albeit in the opposite direction than was hypothesized. The lack of significant findings may have been impacted by several factors, including small sample size and spring 2020 GPA being unreflective of students’ academic abilities due to the pandemic. Future avenues for research exploring psychosocial variables that help low-income students succeed in college, specifically through examining cognitive and affective styles revealed in students’ college admissions essays, are discussed

Katrina and Social Determinants of Health: Toward a Comprehensive Community Emergency Preparedness Approach

Katrina made landfall in southeast Louisiana on August 29, 2005 as a category four hurricane. This Hurricane proved to be one of the most devastating natural disasters in US history with unofficial death estimates ranging from 1,500 to over 4,000. As of this writing, the post-Katrina mortality rate in Louisiana remains unclear. Two years later, Katrina's overwhelming impact continues to affect the lives of survivors. Thousands of individuals, young and old, remain dispersed across the country. Today's New Orleans is roughly half the size it was prior to Katrina. The Unified New Orleans Plan (UNOP) provided moderate scenario population estimates of 225,257 residents in January 2007, 267,631 by 2008, and 299,278 by January 2009. According to the UNOP, population growth is expected to occur slowly with a slight increase associated with the Road Home funds. Nonetheless, many residents have decided not to return, while others anticipate returning when the conditions necessary to support a safer return are in place. The aftermath of this disaster will impact immeasurably at least two generations. There is a plethora of failures at all levels of government associated with the Katrina disaster. Truthfully, everything broke down; governments, private sector organizations, and individuals were ill prepared to respond in a timely manner. Indeed a legitimate role exists for criticism in that it can lead to learning and improvement. To what extent have we acted on what we've learned? Are we better prepared today than we were before Katrina? How much better prepared? Enough to make a difference should another hurricane or other disaster strike

SeaSpine Force Limiting Handle With Replaceable Components

This document outlines details of the Cal Poly-SeaSpine senior project collaboration for the force limiting handle with replaceable components. This document will cover a brief introduction of the project itself, background information about the problem, customer requirements and engineering specifications, ideation and concept selection, detailed design, description of testing and manufacturing plans, design verification and validation results, conclusions, and future work. The design process included background research and scope identification, ideation, concept selection based on quality functions and customer requirements, detailed design, manufacturing, testing and iteration, and design verification and validation. Key specifications for the device included a force to break the device greater than the force to insert the spinal cage during spinal fusion surgery, 378.3 N, and less than the lower limit of the force to break the spinal cage, 923 N. The force to break the device was found to be 776 N, with upper and lower tolerance limits of 793 N and 759 N, which were well within the specified allowable range. Further details of data analysis and testing are included in Section XIII

Do Frameworks Matter? Testing the Framing Effect on Public Support for Prison Pell Grants

Postsecondary college education (PSCE) services are a rehabilitative program that offers adults in custody (AICs) the opportunity to earn a college degree while incarcerated. Research has shown that AICs participating in PSCE services reduce the likelihood of future incarceration as well as higher self-esteem and confidence levels. In 2015, President Obama’s Second Chance Pell Pilot program reinstated federal financial aid for AICs to access PSCE services. Although the Second Chance Pell Pilot program has continued to grow since then, little research has been done on public perceptions toward prison Pell Grants. This thesis studies how offender crime type and sentence length influence support for college education in prison. A public survey was posted on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Respondents (n=827) were randomly assigned to one of eight different vignettes that were designed by crime type (nonviolent, drug, violent, and released) and by sentence length (three years or fifteen years). Participants then ranked their level of agreeableness on a six-point Likert scale for five dependent variables: prison is effective at reducing crime in society, support for college education in prison, support for financial aid in prison, criminal history should determine college eligibility and college education should be accessible for anyone in prison. A One-way ANOVA showed that participants who read the released vignette demonstrated more support for the dependent variables than participants who had received the nonviolent, drug, and violent crime vignette. Next, a Two-way ANOVA was run to see how crime type and sentence length impacted the level of support for the five dependent variables. Four of the five models were statistically significant (p In conclusion, the crime type demonstrated a statistically significant support level for prison Pell Grants. The released vignette yielded more support for PSCE services and federal financial aid than the other three crime types. However, sentence length did not appear to impact the level of support. The message framework did appear to influence the person’s level of support for prison Pell Grants. As research continues to understand public perceptions toward rehabilitative services, framework experiments are essential to understanding what justice policies are most palatable for the public

An open-label trial of tomoxetine in pediatric attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To collect pilot data assessing the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of tomoxetine, a nonstimulant norepinephrine enhancer, in pediatric attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHODS: An open-label trial of tomoxetine in pediatric ADHD was conducted as part of a multisite clinical trial. Following a baseline assessment, an ascending dose titration was completed during 10 weekly visits. RESULTS: Ten subjects were enrolled at baseline, with eight completing the study. Seven of the eight remaining subjects met efficacy criteria. Significant decreases in symptom severity ratings by parents and study investigators were found. The medication was well tolerated, with transient appetite suppression the most frequently reported side effect. However, subjects\u27 weights remained stable across study visits. DISCUSSION: These preliminary findings suggest that tomoxetine may hold promise as a treatment for pediatric ADHD

Physical activity self-management interventions for adults with spinal cord injury: Part 2 – Exploring the generalizability of findings from research to practice

Despite the benefits associated with regular participation in physical activity, individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) remain insufficiently active. The ability to self-manage participation may increase physical activity levels, but only if self-management interventions can be implemented in the ‘real world’. The purpose of this review was to examine the degree to which authors of published studies of LTPA self-management interventions for individuals with SCI have reported on factors that could increase the likelihood of translating this research into practice. A systematic search of five databases was conducted, yielding 33 eligible studies representing 31 interventions. Each intervention was assessed using the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) Framework and the PRECIS-2 (PRagmatic-Explanatory Continuum Indicator Summary) tool. The most commonly reported RE-AIM dimensions were Effectiveness (51.0% of interventions) and Reach (18.5%), followed by Implementation (14.2%), Maintenance (13.8%), and Adoption (4.0%). Overall, interventions were scored as primarily explanatory in five of the nine PRECIS-2 domains (recruitment, primary analysis, organization, flexibility [delivery], follow-up) and primarily pragmatic in one domain (setting). These findings suggest that while some LTPA self-management interventions for individuals with SCI are intended to be translated to real world settings, limited information is available to understand the degree to which this has been accomplished. Enhanced reporting of factors that could increase the likelihood of translating these interventions into practice is recommended