Maternal Responsiveness in Infancy and Early Childhood among a Burundian Refugee Community

Post-migration contexts often provide many challenges for refugee families’ integration into a host society such as language barriers, mental and physical illness, social and community relationships (Berry, 2001; Daud, 2008; Weine, 2011). Traumatic life events, loss, and depression have all been shown to negatively impact parenting (Daud, Skoglund, & Rydelius; Diener, Nievar, & Wright, 2003, Evans, 2006; Garmezy, 1987). These environmental and emotional factors often prevent parents from providing adequate care. Not only does the quality of parenting affect children’s social-emotional development, many contextual factors such as family SES, social supports, and neighborhood have also been shown to impact social-emotional development (Klebanov, Brooks-Gunn, & Duncan, 1994; Shaw & Vondra, 1995; Werner & Smith, 2001). The purpose of this research is to identify the role that maternal responsiveness plays in children’s social-emotional and attachment behaviors while considering the availability of social support from extended kin as caregivers in Knoxville’s Burundian refugee population. This thesis provides analysis of observational and interview data from 21 individuals about maternal responsiveness and sensitivity behaviors, child attachment behaviors and maternal perceptions of social support

Organizing Under Austerity: How Residents’ Concerns Became the Flint Water Crisis

What might it take for politically marginalized residents to challenge cuts in public spending that threaten to harm their health and wellbeing? Specifically, how did residents of Flint, Michigan contribute to the decision of an austerity regime, which was not accountable to them, to spend millions to switch to a safe water source? Relying on evidence from key interviews and newspaper accounts, we examine the influence and limitations of residents and grassroots groups during the 18-month period between April 2014 and October 2015 when the city drew its water from the Flint River. We find that citizen complaints alone were not sufficiently able to convince city officials or national media of widespread illness caused by the water. However, their efforts resulted in partnerships with researchers whose evidence bolstered their claims, thus inspiring a large contribution from a local foundation to support the switch to a clean water source. Thus, before the crisis gained national media attention, and despite significant constraints, residents’ sustained organization—coupled with scientific evidence that credentialed local claims—motivated the return to the Detroit water system. The Flint case suggests that residents seeking redress under severe austerity conditions may require partnerships with external scientific elites

Aging-associated Alteration in the Cardiac MIF-AMPK Cascade in Response to Ischemic Stress

An important role for a macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF)-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway in ameliorating myocardial damage following ischemia/reperfusion has been described. An aging-associated reduction in AMPK activity may be associated with a decline in the ability of cardiac cells to activate the MIF-AMPK cascade, thereby resulting in reduced tolerance to ischemic insults. To test this hypothesis, _in vivo_ regional ischemia was induced by occlusion of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery in young (4-6 months) and aged (24-26 months) mice. The ischemic AMPK activation response was impaired in aged hearts compared to young ones (p<0.01). Notably, cardiac MIF expression in aged hearts was lower than in young hearts (p<0.01). Dual staining data clearly demonstrated larger infarct size in aged hearts following ischemia and reperfusion compared to young hearts (p<0.05). Ischemia-induced AMPK activation in MIF knock out (MIF KO) hearts was blunted, leading to greater contractile dysfunction of MIF KO cardiomyocytes during hypoxia than that of wild type (WT) cardiomyocytes. Finally exogenous recombinant MIF significantly reversed the contractile dysfunction of aged cardiomyocytes in response to hypoxia. We conclude that an aging-associated reduction in ischemic AMPK activation contributes to ischemic intolerance in aged hearts

Talking with Children About Potentially Sensitive Topics: Birth, Sex, Death, and Santa

Our study looks at conversations between parents/caregivers and their children about potentially sensitive topics including birth, sex, death, and fantastical beings (i.e. Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny). Our paper covers information on what children know, Parent conversations, and cultural differences between all these topics. Our methods Are broken up into two parts: a parent survey and an informative website. The survey was distributed locally and included questions about parents’ beliefs towards how much their children knew about these topics and their attitudes about having the conversations. The website was created to be a tool for parents and combines the key findings of our literature review with our own survey-based research

History of the Domestic Violence Coordinating Committee: 1987-2000

This chapter describes the emergence of an entity dedicated to improving inter-agency coordination in domestic violence service delivery, the Domestic Violence Coordinating Committee (DVCC), then charts its work and activity level from its formation in 1987 to the time this research was conducted in 2000. In addition to an overview of the history of the DVCC, this chapter includes a discussion of the factors found pertinent for success and failure of DVCC, and a concluding section where these themes are drawn into an analytical framework. Special attention is given to the role of the police department and its relationships over time with the DVCC and with the individual agencies in the domestic violence service community

The State of Soil Health in Vermont: Summary statistics from Vermont agriculture in 2021

This report shares the summary statistics of the soil health indicators evaluated in the 2021 State of Soil Health project on farms in Vermont. The aim of this report is to share the data in a simple format that can be accessed by farmers, advisors and policy makers. The State of Soil Health in Vermont is an initiative to measure soil health and soil carbon on farms across the state of Vermont. This project is coordinated by UVM Extension and has relied on field support, in kind- donations and data sharing from partnering organizations. The project has five primary objectives: Establish a baseline of soil health indicators, carbon stocks, and associated ecosystem services in Vermont’s agricultural landscapes Create soil health soil sampling standards across management types Provide farmers with contextualized information about soil health on their participating fields Support collaboration among the many organizations that work with farmers towards shared goals around soil health Build skills and capacity for measuring soil health and soil carbon stocks Collaborators include UVM Extension, UVM Department of Plant & Soil Science, the Gund Institute for Environment, Dartmouth College, the Vermont Environmental Stewardship Program of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, the White River Conservation District, Vermont Association of Conservation Districts, Ben & Jerry’s Caring Dairy Program and The Nature Conservancy Vermont

Phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation in a wild hibernator evaluated through reciprocal translocation

Phenological shifts are the most commonly reported ecological responses to climate change and can be produced rapidly by phenotypic plasticity. However, both the limits of plasticity and whether it will be sufficient to maintain local adaptation (or even lead to maladaptation) are less clear. Increased winter precipitation has been shown to lead to phenological delays and corresponding annual decreases in fitness in Columbian ground squirrels (Urocitellus columbianus). We took advantage of natural phenological variation (across elevations) in this species to better assess the extent of phenotypic plasticity in emergence dates and the relationships between emergence dates and individual annual fitness. We coupled a reciprocal translocation experiment with natural monitoring across two populations separated by ∼500 m in elevation. Individuals in both populations responded plastically to both spring temperature and winter precipitation. Translocated individuals adjusted their emergence dates to approach those of individuals in their adoptive populations but did differ significantly in their emergence dates from residents. There were no differences in annual fitness among treatment groups nor selection on emergence date within a year. Phenotypic plasticity is thus sufficient to allow individuals to respond to broad environmental gradients, but the influence of variation in emergence dates on annual fitness requires further investigation

Orbital Metastases from Breast Cancer with BRCA2 Mutation: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women in the United States. Of these women, 5-10% have an inherited form of breast cancer with a mutation in a major gene, such as the breast cancer susceptibility genes 1 or 2 (BRCA1 or BRCA2). Triple negative (the most common subtype of BRCA1-associated breast cancers) and Her2-positive breast cancer patients have more frequently been observed to develop central nervous system (CNS) metastases compared to other molecular subtypes of breast cancers. However, it remains an open question if BRCA2-associated breast cancers also have a higher propensity to develop CNS metastases. Here we report a rare case of recurrent BRCA2-associated breast cancer which manifested as orbital metastases. At the time of this publication, this is one of the first cases of BRCA2-associated breast cancer to present with orbital metastases. In this article, we discuss the diagnostic challenges and review the literature regarding this rare presentation

Dissemination and Systemic Colonization of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli in a Murine Model of Bacteremia

Infection with uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), the causative agent of most uncomplicated urinary tract infections, proceeds in an ascending manner and, if left untreated, may result in bacteremia and urosepsis. To examine the fate of UPEC after its entry into the bloodstream, we developed a murine model of sublethal bacteremia. CBA/J mice were inoculated intravenously with 1 × 106 CFU of pyelonephritis strain E. coli CFT073 carrying a bioluminescent reporter. Biophotonic imaging, used to monitor the infection over 48 h, demonstrated that the bacteria disseminated systemically and appeared to localize at discrete sites. UPEC was recovered from the spleen, liver, kidneys, lungs, heart, brain, and intestines as early as 20 min postinoculation, peaking at 24 h postinoculation. A nonpathogenic E. coli K-12 strain, however, disseminated at significantly lower levels (P < 0.01) and was cleared from the liver and cecum by 24 h postinoculation. Isogenic mutants lacking type 1 fimbriae, P fimbriae, capsule, TonB, the heme receptors Hma and ChuA, or particularly the sialic acid catabolism enzyme NanA were significantly outcompeted by wild-type CFT073 during bacteremia (P < 0.05), while flagellin and hemolysin mutants were not

Benign Metastasizing Leiomyoma to the Lung and Spine: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Benign metastasizing leiomyomas (BML) represent a rare phenomenon consisting of the extra-uterine spread of smooth muscle cells with similar histological, immunological, and molecular patterns to those of benign uterine leiomyomas. They are considered benign based off their low mitotic activity, lack of anaplasia or necrosis, and limited vascularization. This condition represents an interesting diagnostic and treatment challenge based on their rarity and indolent nature. Our case represents a unique finding of BML in the thoracic spine in a postmenopausal woman many years after hysterectomy and partial oophorectomy. There are currently no standard guidelines for treatment of BML, given the rare nature of this condition, with most patients treated with a combination of surgical resection and radiotherapy, followed by hormonal treatment and radiological surveillance serving as the primary backbone of current management plans. Given that these patients present a unique clinical challenge in terms of diagnosis and management, it is important to delineate and further examine these rare entities