Samantha Sunnarborg Honors Portfolio

Samantha Sunnarborg\u27s honors portfolio captured in May 2023

Discrimination or Democracy? Reviewing the French Veil Ban in Light of the European Convention on Human Rights

This article aims to examine the rhetoric and legal logic exercised in S.A.S. v France, where the European Court of Human Rights reviewed French national legislation which treads perilously upon codified European human right norms. This article focuses on the French ban on full-face coverings in public and critically analyzes the logic of the arguments utilized by France to defend the ban. The case commentary is enriched with an analysis of the political and social rhetoric that must not be ignored when discussing justice and law. Despite nearly a decade having passed since the verdict, it remains crucial to review the legal vocabulary utilized and understand how it complicated the Court’s analysis due to France framing the matter as a judgement over values. This rhetoric persists today, making it improbable to contest these violations beyond a national judicial system. The article seeks to challenge the complacency of the Court due to hesitation to make a judgement over values, despite its existence to safeguard specific values. It also encourages continued skepticism toward the Court’s ability to secure human rights and fundamental freedoms. This article aims to examine the rhetoric and legal logic exercised in S.A.S. v France, where the European Court of Human Rights reviewed French national legislation which treads perilously upon codified European human right norms. This article focuses on the French ban on full-face coverings in public and critically analyzes the logic of the arguments utilized by France to defend the ban. The case commentary is enriched with an analysis of the political and social rhetoric that must not be ignored when discussing justice and law. Despite nearly a decade having passed since the verdict, it remains crucial to review the legal vocabulary utilized and understand how it complicated the Court’s analysis due to France framing the matter as a judgement over values. This rhetoric persists today, making it improbable to contest these violations beyond a national judicial system. The article seeks to challenge the complacency of the Court due to hesitation to make a judgement over values, despite its existence to safeguard specific values. It also encourages continued skepticism toward the Court’s ability to secure human rights and fundamental freedoms.

A Comparison Between Edema and Lymphedema

The terms edema and lymphedema are often used interchangeably but treatment approaches for these forms of swelling differ. The purpose of this paper is to compare the treatments for edema and lymphedema, provide a background in the anatomy of the circulatory system and discuss signs, symptoms, and causes of swelling. Management of edema is directed toward its cause but physical therapy treatment may also be appropriate. Lymphedema remains a risk for years following initial injury, therefore, preventative measures are especially important to address, to decrease the occurrence of cellulitis. Physical therapy treatment for edema and lymphedema include elevation, compression, exercise, electric stimulation, massage, thermal modalities, and hyaluronidase applied by iontophoresis. The approaches differ in the pressure applied, treatment time, form of wrapping, degree of stimulation and technique. Further research should be performed in the areas of thermal therapy for treating lymphedema, ultrasound for chronic edema and lymphedema treatment and use of human studies to enhance effectiveness of treatment

Neste Oil’s Porvoo oil refinery's emergency power system analysis and development proposal

Prosessiteollisuudessa, jossa käsitellään palavia nesteitä ja kaasuja, jo lyhyillä sähkökatkoilla on suuria haittavaikutuksia tuotantoon. Häiriötilanteita varten Porvoon jalostamolle on rakennettu varavoimaverkko, jolla taataan jalostusprosessien hallittu ja turvallinen alasajo. Porvoon jalostamon varavoimaverkkoa on rakennettu monella eri vuosikymmenellä ja sen kunnosta ei ollut tarkkaa tietoa, joten Neste Oil halusi teettää diplomityön, jossa selvitettäisiin Porvoon jalostamon varavoimaverkon nykytila. Varavoimaverkon tila selvitettiin suorittamalla sille vika-, laatu- ja tehotasapainotarkastelut NEPLAN nimisellä verkostonlaskentaohjelmistolla. Työ koostuu kolmesta osasta. Työn ensimmäisessä osiossa tutustutaan varavoimaverkon komponentteihin sekä niiden sijaiskytkentöihin ja kerrotaan eri tutkimusmenetelmistä. Työn toisessa osiossa käsitellään varavoimaverkon laskentatuloksia ja esitetään varavoimaverkosta havaitut puutteet. Työn viimeisessä osiossa kerrotaan parannusehdotukset varavoimaverkosta havaittuihin puutteisiin sekä arvioidaan, miten paljon parannusehdotusten toteuttaminen tulisi maksamaan. Työssä havaittujen puutteiden ja niihin esitettyjen parannusehdotusten pohjalta Neste Oilissa tehtiin jatkosuunnitelmia varavoimaverkon käyttövarmuuden parantamiseksi. Parannusehdotukset tullaan toteuttamaan seuraavan Porvoon jalostamon suurseisokin aikana vuonna 2015

Nukahtamisviivetutkimus narkolepsiaan sairastuneilla lapsilla

Tavoitteet: Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää, millaista on Pandemrix-rokotteen saaneen lapsinarkoleptikon uni nukahtamisviivetutkimuksessa (MSLT). Tutkimuspopulaatio: Tutkimukseen osallistui 34 lasta, jotka olivat saaneet Pandemrix-rokotteen vuosina 2009-2010. Lasten ikä ensioireiden alkaessa oli 6-16 vuotta ja diagnoosi todettu keskimäärin vuoden kuluttua ensioireista (vaihteluväli 0-3 vuotta). Diagnoosihetkellä potilaiden ikä oli ollut 7-17 vuotta. Tutkimuspopulaatiosta poikia oli 15 ja tyttöjä 19. Menetelmät: Työ on toteutettu osana laajempaa lasten narkolepsiatutkimusta, jota on johtanut Sari-Leena Himanen Tampereen yliopistollisessa sairaalassa. Tutkimuksessa on tarkasteltu lapsinarkoleptikkojen unta MSLT:ssä sekä polysomnografiassa (PSG) TAYS:n unilaboratoriossa. Potilaiden unikäyrät analysoitiin Somnologica-ohjelmalla ja näistä saadut tiedot koottiin Excel-taulukkoon. Tulokset ja pohdinta: Tutkittavat nukahtivat PSG:ssa nopeasti (keskimäärin 9,9 minuutissa, normaali alle 15 min), samoin MSLT:ssä (3,1 minuutissa, normaali yli 8 min). Tutkimuspopulaation kokonaisuniaika PSG:ssa oli keskimäärin 8,4 tuntia, mikä on hieman normaalia alhaisempi, 5-8-vuotiaat lapset nukkuvat tavallisesti 9,5-12 h ja yli 12-vuotiaat lapset nukkuvat noin 9-11,5 h

The ADAM17–amphiregulin–EGFR Axis in Mammary Development and Cancer

In order to fulfill its function of producing and delivering sufficient milk to newborn mammalian offspring, the mammary gland first has to form an extensive ductal network. As in all phases of mammary development, hormonal cues elicit local intra- and inter-cellular signaling cascades that regulate ductal growth and differentiation. Among other things, ductal development requires the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), its ligand amphiregulin (AREG), and the transmembrane metalloproteinase AD-AM17, which can cleave and release AREG from the cell surface so that it may interact with its receptor. Tissue recombination and transplantation studies demonstrate that EGFR phosphorylation and ductal development proceed only when ADAM17 and AREG are expressed on mammary epithelial cells and EGFR is present on stromal cells, and that local administration of soluble AREG can rescue the development of ADAM17-deficient transplants. Thus proper mammary morphogenesis requires the ADAM17-mediated release of AREG from ductal epithelial cells, the subsequent activation of EGFR on stromal cells, and EGFR-dependent stromal responses that in return elicit a new set of epithelial responses, all culminating in the formation of a fully functional ductal tree. This, however, raises new issues concerning what may act upstream, downstream or in parallel with the ADAM17–AREG–EGFR axis, how it may become hijacked or corrupted during the onset and evolution of cancer, and how such ill effects may be confronted

Transcription of the sporulation gene ssgA is activated by the IcIR-type regulator SsgR in a whi-independent manner in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2).

SsgA plays an important role in the control of sporulation-specific cell division and morphogenesis of streptomycetes, and ssgA null mutants have a rare conditionally non-sporulating phenotype. In this paper we show that transcription of ssgA and of the upstream-located ssgR, an iclR-type regulatory gene, is developmentally regulated in Streptomyces coelicolor and activated towards the onset of sporulation. A constructed ssgR null mutant was phenotypically very similar to the ssgA mutant. The absence of ssgA transcription in this mutant is probably the sole cause of its sporulation deficiency, as wild-type levels of sporulation could be restored by the SsgR-independent expression of ssgA from the ermE promoter. Binding of a truncated version of SsgR to the ssgA promoter region showed that ssgA transcription is directly activated by SsgR; such a dependence of ssgA on SsgR in S. coelicolor is in clear contrast to the situation in S. griseus, where ssgA transcription is activated by A-factor, and its control by the SsgR orthologue, SsfR, is far less important. Our failure to complement the ssgR mutant with S. griseus ssfR suggests functional differences between the genes. These observations may explain some of the major differences in developmental control between the phylogenetically divergent species S. coelicolor and S. griseus, highlighted in a recent microreview (Chater and Horinouchi (2003) Mol Microbiol 48: 9–15). Surprisingly, transcription of ssgA and ssgR is not dependent on the early whi genes (whiA, whiB, whiG, whiH, whiI and whiJ )

A novel PKC activating molecule promotes neuroblast differentiation and delivery of newborn neurons in brain injuries

Neural stem cells are activated within neurogenic niches in response to brain injuries. This results in the production of neuroblasts, which unsuccessfully attempt to migrate toward the damaged tissue. Injuries constitute a gliogenic/non-neurogenic niche generated by the presence of anti-neurogenic signals, which impair neuronal differentiation and migration. Kinases of the protein kinase C (PKC) family mediate the release of growth factors that participate in different steps of the neurogenic process, particularly, novel PKC isozymes facilitate the release of the neurogenic growth factor neuregulin. We have demonstrated herein that a plant derived diterpene, (EOF2; CAS number 2230806-06-9), with the capacity to activate PKC facilitates the release of neuregulin 1, and promotes neuroblasts differentiation and survival in cultures of subventricular zone (SVZ) isolated cells in a novel PKC dependent manner. Local infusion of this compound in mechanical cortical injuries induces neuroblast enrichment within the perilesional area, and noninvasive intranasal administration of EOF2 promotes migration of neuroblasts from the SVZ towards the injury, allowing their survival and differentiation into mature neurons, being some of them cholinergic and GABAergic. Our results elucidate the mechanism of EOF2 promoting neurogenesis in injuries and highlight the role of novel PKC isozymes as targets in brain injury regeneration

Aspirin Induces Platelet Receptor Shedding via ADAM17 (TACE)

Aspirin is effective in the therapy of cardiovascular diseases, because it causes acetylation of cyclooxygenase 1 (COX-1) leading to irreversible inhibition of platelets. Additional mechanisms can be suspected, because patients treated with other platelet COX inhibitors such as indomethacin do not display an increased bleeding tendency as observed for aspirin-treated patients. Recently, aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs were shown to induce shedding of L-selectin in neutrophils in a metalloproteinase-dependent manner. Therefore, we investigated the effects of aspirin on the von Willebrand Factor receptor complex glycoprotein (GP) Ib-V-IX, whose lack or dysfunction causes bleeding in patients. As quantified by fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis in whole blood, aspirin, but not its metabolite salicylic acid, induced dose-dependent shedding of human and murine GPIbalpha and GPV from the platelet surface, whereas other glycoproteins remained unaffected by this treatment. Biotinylated fragments of GPV were detected by immunoprecipitation in the supernatant of washed mouse platelets, and the expression level of GPIbalpha was decreased in these platelets as measured by Western blot analysis. Although shedding occurred normally in COX-1-deficient murine platelets, shedding was completely blocked by a broad-range metalloproteinase inhibitor and, more importantly, in mouse platelets expressing an inactive form of ADAM17. Shed fragments of GPIbalpha and GPV were elevated in the plasma of aspirin-injected mice compared with animals injected with control buffer. These data demonstrate that aspirin at high concentrations induces shedding of GPIbalpha and GPV by an ADAM17-dependent mechanism and that this process can occur in vivo