The Persecution of the French Huguenots

At the start of the sixteenth century, the French Protestants, also known as Huguenots, came to play a major role in the history of France, threatening the overarching power of the Catholic Church, and inadvertently, the power of the French monarchy. Strongly influenced by Reformation leader and theologian, Jean Calvin, this new religious movement suffered immense persecution in France throughout all periods of their existence. Although the Edict of Nantes (1589) temporarily granted religious tolerance to the Huguenots, it was subsequently revoked during the reign of Louis XIV in 1685, and the persecution and violence worsened. During this time, many Huguenots who were mostly tradesmen and members of the bourgeoisie decided to flee France, taking refuge in countries that would later reap the benefits of their skills and industriousness. Not only was the persecution of the Huguenots unjust, but it also caused a major economic downturn in France and deteriorated the reputation of the French monarchy in Europe. This research explores the reasons behind the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, the manner in which the Huguenots were persecuted, and the consequences of the Huguenot exodus from France

The Effect of Directing Groups on the Rate of Rhodium-Catalyzed Decarbonylation Reactions

Carbon-carbon bonds are difficult to activate due to the lack of flexibility of the sigma bonds and steric hindrance which contribute to the stability of the bond. However, the addition of a rhodium catalyst allows for decarbonylation of aryl ketones via carbon-carbon single bond activation. The decarbonylation process is essential to determine the effectiveness of the directing group. Herein, we describe the synthetic pathways for the starting materials, as well as the effects of various nitrogen containing directing groups on the rate of decarbonylation

Characteristics of Patients Discontinuing Care

Objectives: Due to lower fees, dental school clinics (DSCs) may provide dental care for vulnerable populations. This study evaluates factors associated with patients deciding to discontinue care at a DSC. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of a patient transfer form that was implemented to smooth transition of a patient when their student provider graduated. Forms provided deidentified information about characteristics and unmet dental needs. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were used to identify associations between patient characteristics and deciding to continue treatment in the student practice. Results: Of 1894 patients, 73.4% continued care. Financial limitations were most commonly reported as the reason for discontinuing care (30.1%). Patients speaking a language other than English or who had reported financial barriers were significantly less likely to continue care. Conclusions: Dental school patients from vulnerable groups are more likely to discontinue care. Dental schools should implement programs that will assist patients in maintaining a dental home

Assigning and Testing Function from Structure of Uncharacterized Proteins

In 2000, the National Institutes of Health initiated the Protein Structure Initiative as a multi-center structural biology program with “an initial goal to make the three-dimensional, atomic-level structures of most proteins easily obtainable from knowledge of their corresponding DNA sequences.” (NIGMS website). The third and final phase of this program concluded in 2015 with the publication and distribution of more than 5000 previously uncharacterized proteins. The work described here leverages the availability of high-quality structures and pre-cloned expression plasmids to combine forces of undergraduate biochemistry teaching lab courses across a diverse range of participating institutions. This consortium of undergraduate biochemistry faculty and students seeks to identify functional properties of a subset of these uncharacterized proteins, seeking to unify structure-and-function relationships. The current biochemistry laboratory class at Hope College has expressed and purified seven of these proteins, finding that structural information can guide, although not predict entirely, functional predictions regarding substrate specificity