The American Yawp

The American Yawp constructs a coherent and accessible narrative from all the best of recent historical scholarship. Without losing sight of politics and power, it incorporates transnational perspectives, integrates diverse voices, recovers narratives of resistance, and explores the complex process of cultural creation. It looks for America in crowded slave cabins, bustling markets, congested tenements, and marbled halls. It navigates between maternity wards, prisons, streets, bars, and boardrooms. Whitman’s America, like ours, cut across the narrow boundaries that strangle many narratives. Balancing academic rigor with popular readability, The American Yawp offers a multi-layered, democratic alternative to the American past

Case Study of Three Rural Texas Superintendents as Equity Oriented Change Agents

For this qualitative case study (Patton, 2003), we used narrative inquiry (Erlandson, Harris, Skipper, & Allen, 1993) and sought to analyze extended interviews and field notes based on interactions with three rural superintendents working in high-needs, public PK-12 school districts in Texas. We collected data with regard to these superintendents’ perceptions of themselves as social justice/equity oriented change agents based on the Equity Oriented Change Agent or EOCA framework developed by Skrla, McKenzie, and Scheurich (2009). Our goal with this study was to glean greater insight into the work of these rural school leaders as potential equity oriented change agents. Additionally, we sought to ascertain any additional EOCA characteristics through analysis of the participants’ perceptions. The data revealed themes that aligned with the Skrla et al., (2009) framework as well as some emergent data beyond those EOCA characteristics. These themes afforded us a better understanding of the work of these three rural superintendents as equity oriented change agents and how they perceive their work

Canadian children's and youth's pedometer-determined steps/day, parent-reported TV watching time, and overweight/obesity: The CANPLAY Surveillance Study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study examines associations between pedometer-determined steps/day and parent-reported child's Body Mass Index (BMI) and time typically spent watching television between school and dinner.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Young people (aged 5-19 years) were recruited through their parents by random digit dialling and mailed a data collection package. Information on height and weight and time spent watching television between school and dinner on a typical school day was collected from parents. In total, 5949 boys and 5709 girls reported daily steps. BMI was categorized as overweight or obese using Cole's cut points. Participants wore pedometers for 7 days and logged daily steps. The odds of being overweight and obese by steps/day and parent-reported time spent television watching were estimated using logistic regression for complex samples.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Girls had a lower median steps/day (10682 versus 11059 for boys) and also a narrower variation in steps/day (interquartile range, 4410 versus 5309 for boys). 11% of children aged 5-19 years were classified as obese; 17% of boys and girls were overweight. Both boys and girls watched, on average, < 40 minutes of television between school and dinner on school days. Adjusting for child's age and sex and parental education, the odds of a child being obese decreased by 20% for every extra 3000 steps/day and increased by 21% for every 30 minutes of television watching. There was no association of being overweight with steps/day, however the odds of being overweight increased by 8% for every 30 minutes of additional time spent watching television between school and dinner on a typical school day.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Television viewing is the more prominent factor in terms of predicting overweight, and it contributes to obesity, but steps/day attenuates the association between television viewing and obesity, and therefore can be considered protective against obesity. In addition to replacing opportunities for active alternative behaviours, exposure to television might also impact body weight by promoting excess energy intake.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this large nationally representative sample, pedometer-determined steps/day was associated with reduced odds of being obese (but not overweight) whereas each parent-reported hour spent watching television between school and dinner increased the odds of both overweight and obesity.</p

Quantitation of Gait and Stance Alterations Due to Monosodium Iodoacetate–induced Knee Osteoarthritis in Yucatan Swine

Knee osteoarthritis is one of the most common causes of chronic pain worldwide, and several animal models have been developed to investigate disease mechanisms and treatments to combat associated morbidities. Here we describe a novel method for assessment of locomotor pain behavior in Yucatan swine. We used monosodium iodoacetate (MIA) to induce osteoarthritis in the hindlimb knee, and then conducted live observation, quantitative gait analysis, and quantitative weight-bearing stance analysis. We used these methods to test the hypothesis that locomotor pain behaviors after osteoarthritis induction would be detected by multiparameter quantitation for at least 12 wk in a novel large animal model of osteoarthritis. MIA-induced knee osteoarthritis produced lameness quantifiable by all measurement techniques, with onset at 2 to 4 wk and persistence until the conclusion of the study at 12 wk. Both live observation and gait analysis of kinetic parameters identified mild and moderate osteoarthritis phenotypes corresponding to a binary dose relationship. Quantitative stance analysis demonstrated the greatest sensitivity, discriminating between mild osteoarthritis states induced by 1.2 and 4.0 mg MIA, with stability of expression for as long as 12 wk. The multiparameter quantitation used in our study allowed rejection of the null hypothesis. This large animal model of quantitative locomotor pain resulting from MIA-induced osteoarthritis may support the assessment of new analgesic strategies for human knee osteoarthritis

Life in 90 words: opportunities for person-centred care amidst COVID-19

Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 and the consequent public health and social distancing measures significantly impacted on service continuity for mental health patients. This article reports on contingency planning initiative in the Australian public sector. Methods: Ninety-word care synopses were developed for each patient. These formed the basis for guided conversations between case managers and consultant psychiatrists to ensure safe service provision and retain a person-centred focus amidst the threat of major staffing shortfalls. Results: This process identified vulnerable patient groups with specific communication needs and those most at risk through service contraction. The challenges and opportunities for promoting safety and self-management through proactive telehealth came up repeatedly. The guided conversations also raised awareness of the shared experience between patients and professionals of coronavirus disease 2019. Conclusion: There is a parallel pandemic of anxiety which creates a unique opportunity to connect at a human level

Hydrostatic low-range pressure applications of the Paris–Edinburgh cell utilizing polymer gaskets for diffuse X-ray scattering measurements

The use of a polymeric (Torlon or polyamide–imide) gasket material in a Paris–Edinburgh pressure cell for in situ high-pressure X-ray scattering measurements is demonstrated. The quality of the data obtained in this way is suitable for Bragg and pair distribution function analysis

Time Required for Lameness Detection on an Embedded Microcomputer Based Force Plate in a Lab Based Setting

The objective of this study was to determine the minimum time required for the embedded microcomputer based force plate (force plate) to detect lameness. The force plate can be placed under an electronic sow feeder or a gestation stall to routinely assess lameness. Previous work with the force plate has required sows to remain standing in a gestation stall for longer than a typical feeding time allotment of 9 minutes to measure the force applied to each foot. Comparing sows’ weight distribution across time showed that an adjustment period is required before force distribution measurements are consistent, as the sows adapts to the force plate. When using a 30 second adjustment period, sows only needed to stand on the force plate for 210 seconds in order to have a consistent reading across time. This could create a labor reduction during research trials, and allow more data to be used from a commercial setting, than when using the previous times

Structural basis of human kinesin-8 function and inhibition

Kinesin motors play diverse roles in mitosis and are targets for anti-mitotic drugs. The clinical significance of these motors emphasizes the importance of understanding the molecular basis of their function. Equally, investigations into the modes of inhibition of these motors provide crucial information about their molecular mechanisms. Kif18A regulates spindle microtubules through its dual functionality – microtubule-based stepping and regulation of microtubule dynamics. We investigated the mechanism of Kif18A and its inhibition by the small molecule BTB-1. The Kif18A motor domain drives ATP-dependent plus-end microtubule gliding, and undergoes conformational changes consistent with canonical mechanisms of plus-end directed motility. The Kif18A motor domain also depolymerises microtubule plus and minus ends. BTB-1 inhibits both microtubule-based Kif18A activities. A reconstruction of BTB-1-bound, microtubule-bound Kif18A, in combination with computational modelling, identified an allosteric BTB-1 binding site near loop5, where it blocks the ATP-dependent conformational changes we characterised. Strikingly, BTB-1 binding is close to that of well-characterised Kif11 inhibitors that block tight microtubule binding, whereas BTB-1 traps Kif18A on the microtubule. Our work highlights a general mechanism of kinesin inhibition in which small molecule binding near loop5 prevents a range of conformational changes, blocking motor function