Suspicious minds : the dramatisation of paranoia in Victorian poetry : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English at Massey University

This thesis contains readings of a number of Victorian poems by Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning and Dante Gabriel Rossetti which dramatise paranoia and jealousy. A range of twentieth-century theories of paranoia (including clinical, Freudian and Lacanian) have been used as explanatory tools for interpreting the representations of paranoia in the poems. The reading of Tennyson's Maud is based on Freud's theory of homoerotic motives. The reading of Browning's "'Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came'" is based on the Lacanian concepts of foreclosure and the Name-of-the-Father. The readings of the jealousy poems are based on both theories, and this section includes a discussion of the limitations of the theories as explanatory tools. The general approach has been to apply clinical and psychoanalytical constructs and explanations to each poem separately, although there is some discussion involving the comparison of paranoid behaviours and motives across all the poems. Areas for further research are suggested in the concluding chapter

Land Grant Application- Frost, Nathaniel (Eliot)

Land grant application submitted to the Maine Land Office on behalf of Nathaniel Frost for service in the Revolutionary War, by their widow Sarah.https://digitalmaine.com/revolutionary_war_me_land_office/1351/thumbnail.jp

DaCosta Cadogan v. Barbados

On May 18, 2005, the Supreme Court of Barbados found Mr. Tyrone DaCosta Cadogan guilty of murder and sentenced him to death by hanging; a sentence that is in accordance with Barbados’s Offences Against the Persons Act of 1994. Barbados imposed this mandatory death penalty sentence without considering the specific circumstances of the crime or the mitigating factors. As a consequence of a savings clause in the Constitution of Barbados, the domestic courts could not declare the mandatory death sentence to be invalid even though it violated fundamental rights protected under Barbados’s Constitution and the American Convention on Human Rights

Functional significance of Tumor Protein D52 amplification and overexpression in cancer

Tumor Protein D52 (TPD52) is an oncogene whose overexpression has been demonstrated in tumours of diverse cellular origins and associated with poor prognosis. Although the breadth and clinical significance of TPD52 overexpression in cancer is now well-established, there remains a long-standing deficit in our understanding of its functional significance. TPD52 is located on the frequently gained chromosome band 8q21, where we propose that it is an amplification target. We analysed TPD52 amplification in 995 cancer cell lines and then investigated whether this was broadly associated with altered lipid phenotypes in a selection of these cell lines. We demonstrated a significant positive association between TPD52 expression and lipid droplet staining, with increased lipid droplet number and size upon exogenous TPD52 overexpression in MDAMB231 cells. Furthermore, TPD52 interacted directly with the lipid droplet-associated proteins, adipophilin and TIP47. This suggests a role for TPD52 in intracellular lipid storage, which is important to cancer cells since their rapid proliferation is contingent upon having sufficient lipid for membrane synthesis. We therefore hypothesised that TPD52 overexpression could be applied clinically as a predictive marker for cancers likely to respond to drugs that interfere with lipid pathways. We performed predictive modelling using pharmacogenomic datasets to investigate for the first time whether TPD52 amplification and/or overexpression was associated with altered sensitivity to different drugs. These analyses identified several compounds for future validation, of which the lipid-relevant drugs fatostatin and brefeldin A were pursued in in vitro studies. Collectively, the findings presented in this thesis represent a significant step forward in our understanding of how TPD52 amplification and/or overexpression may contribute to the development of cancer at a molecular level, and how this could be applied to improve cancer treatment

Inhibition of Anthrax Lethal Toxin-Induced Cytolysis of RAW264.7 Cells by Celastrol

BACKGROUND: Bacillus anthracis is the bacterium responsible for causing anthrax. The ability of B. anthracis to cause disease is dependent on a secreted virulence factor, lethal toxin, that promotes survival of the bacteria in the host by impairing the immune response. A well-studied effect of lethal toxin is the killing of macrophages, although the molecular mechanisms involved have not been fully characterized. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we demonstrate that celastrol, a quinone methide triterpene derived from a plant extract used in herbal medicine, inhibits lethal toxin-induced death of RAW264.7 murine macrophages. Celastrol did not prevent cleavage of mitogen activated protein kinase kinase 1, a cytosolic target of the toxin, indicating that it did not inhibit the uptake or catalytic activity of lethal toxin. Surprisingly, celastrol conferred almost complete protection when it was added up to 1.5 h after intoxication, indicating that it could rescue cells in the late stages of intoxication. Since the activity of the proteasome has been implicated in intoxication using other pharmacological agents, we tested whether celastrol blocked proteasome activity. We found that celastrol inhibited the proteasome-dependent degradation of proteins in RAW264.7 cells, but only slightly inhibited proteasome-mediated cleavage of fluorogenic substrates in vitro. Furthermore, celastrol blocked stimulation of IL-18 processing, indicating that celastrol acted upstream of inflammasome activation. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This work identifies celastrol as an inhibitor of lethal toxin-mediated macrophage lysis and suggests an inhibitory mechanism involving inhibition of the proteasome pathway

Personality characteristics associated with susceptibility to false memories

Accepted ManuscriptThis study examined whether certain personality characteristics are associated with susceptibility to false memories. Participants first answered questions from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in order to measure various personality characteristics. They then watched a video excerpt, the simulated eyewitness event. They were next encouraged to lie about the videotaped event during an interview. A week later, some participants recognized confabulated events as being from the video. Two personality characteristics in particular—the introversion-extroversion and thinking—feeling dimensions—were associated with susceptibility to false memories.Frost, P., Sparrow, S. & Barry, J. (2006). Personality Characteristics Associated with Susceptibility to False Memories. The American Journal of Psychology, 119(2), 193-204. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2044533

The Influence of Dose of a Plant-Derived Volatile Cue on Arabidopsis thaliana Resistance against Insect Herbivores

Green leaf volatiles (GLVs) are plant-derived volatile organic compounds (VOCs) known to affect plant-plant communication. Specifically, GLVs can facilitate “priming”, whereby plants initiate a faster and stronger defensive response to a subsequent stress. The stress-induced GLV cis-3-hexenyl acetate (z3HAC) is a known priming cue, yet whether the concentration of the z3HAC affects plant defenses is unknown. Here, we tested the hypothesis that z3HAC concentration of would influence Arabidopsis thaliana resistance against a specialist (Trichoplusia ni) and generalist (Spodoptera exigua) herbivore. Our z3HAC treatments ranged from 0-100 ng/hr, which spanned the range of recorded natural emissions (10-40 ng/hr). We measured relative growth rates (RGR) of naïve caterpillars as a proxy for plant resistance. z3HAC concentration had no linear effects on A. thaliana resistance, even though the specialist performed better than did the generalist. Interestingly, the specialist’s RGR was greater than the generalist’s RGR on previously induced plants independent of z3HAC. Our results suggest that the concentration of z3HAC may not be an important factor in its reliability as a predictor of future herbivory

Eating Disorders, Recovery, and Social Work Practice in Quebec: An Exploratory Study

Eating disorders are complex and biopsychosocial in nature. Some of these disorders are defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), a powerful document that has shaped the research and treatment of eating disorders, with a particular focus on anorexia and bulimia in clinical settings (Arnaiz, 2009; Black, 2003; Gremillion, 2002; Wilson, 2004). Conversely, social work research and theorizing on the topic of eating disorders is largely absent in the literature, despite the identification of social factors that cause, maintain and exacerbate eating disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2018; Leblanc, Duncan, & O’Neill Gordon, 2014; Public Health Agency of Canada, 2002). Currently, publicly funded eating disorder treatment in Canada is delivered through hospital programs whose resources are limited, resulting in an acute care model conceived for anorexia and bulimia (de Oliveira, Colton, Cheng, Olmsted, & Kurdyak, 2017; Leblanc et al., 2014). However, the research indicates that a large faction of the eating disorder population is excluded from the current treatment model (Hart, Granillo, Jorm, & Paxton, 2011; Hudson, Hiripi, Pope, & Kessler, 2007; Mitchison, Dawson, Hand, Mond, & Hay, 2016). As a result, many individuals are recovering in the community, outside formal eating disorder clinics and hospital units (Leblanc et al., 2014; Mitchison et al., 2016; Public Health Agency of Canada, 2002). This exploratory study sheds light on the lived experiences of eating disorder recovery in a Quebec community setting, and the possible role of social workers in this process. Contrary to the acute care treatment model that is highly medicalized, recovery is a unique journey towards well-being that is defined by the person living with mental illness (Davidson, Tondora, Staeheli Lawless, & Rowe, 2009; Deegan, 1996; Provencher, 2002). As such, eating disorder recovery is not defined by an objective measure such as weight or frequency of symptoms, but by the individual’s quality of life. Recovery-oriented intervention models are person-centered, socially oriented, strengths based, and focused on quality of life (Davidson et al., 2009; Provencher, 2002); all of which are in harmony with social work’s core values and professional skill set (OTSTCFQ, 2012). A feminist qualitative research approach was applied to this topic, as the goal of the study was to uncover subjugated knowledge (Hesse-Biber, 2014), with a particular focus on gender. Deductive theoretical sampling was used to recruit 12 adult participants through 3 Quebec community organizations specializing in eating disorders, in three major centers (Montreal, Sherbrooke, and Quebec). The resulting sample was diverse in age, type of eating disorder, ethnicity, and recovery trajectory. In-depth interviews were conducted with the participants in a feminist approach, then analyzed using a combination of thematic analysis and grounded theory. The results uncovered a complex reality of eating disorder recovery in the Quebec community. Interestingly, participants definitions of recovery emphasized the unique and long-term nature of this process, that was not measured by the absence of eating disorder symptoms but by the ability to function in the various spheres of their lives (relationships, work, school, leisure, etc.). A variety of support systems were required in the recovery process, including: intuitive eating nutritional interventions, group work, and support from loved ones. Much of this support was found in the community, as evidenced by the fact that half of the sample completely bypassed the medical system in their recoveries. Participants also identified several barriers to recovery that were related to how eating disorder services are conceived and delivered based on DSM criteria. The fact that few services for binge-eating disorder exist, despite having full diagnostic criteria (American Psychiatric Association, 2018) and being identified as the most prevalent eating disorder in North America (Hudson et al., 2007), is by far the most disturbing finding of this study. In addition, participants whose eating disorder manifested in overweight or obese bodies all experienced a generalized stigmatization of fat that impacted their recoveries negatively. Other barriers reported by participants were a lack of specialized eating disorder services, and first-line health and social service professionals’ unawareness of eating disorders. Participants in this study agreed that social work could provide support to individuals recovering from an eating disorder, if better trained. Outside the acute phases of the disorders, social work would be well situated to provide support and education to loved ones, to work on issues of quality of life, and to assist individuals in finding eating disorder resources. If training in recovery-oriented practice and the social aspects of eating disorders were included in the core social work curriculum, social workers would be better equipped to provide eating disorder support in the community, where much of recovery takes place

Perfectionism and attitudes toward cognitive enhancers (“smart drugs”)

Perfectionism is a personality disposition characterized by exceedingly high standards of performance and pressure to be perfect which may incline students to take cognitive enhancers (“smart drugs”) to boost their academic performance. So far, however, no study has investigated the relationships of multidimensional perfectionism and attitudes toward cognitive enhancers. The present study investigated these relationships in 272 university students examining different dimensions of perfectionism. Results showed that socially prescribed perfectionism, perfectionist concerns and doubts, and perceived parental pressure to be perfect showed positive correlations with attitudes favoring the use of cognitive enhancers. In contrast, self-oriented perfectionism, perfectionist personal standards, and organization showed negative correlations. The findings suggest that perfectionism may play a role as both a risk factor for and a protective factor against using cognitive enhancers depending on what dimensions of perfectionism are regarded