Bodies of life: Shaker literacies and literature

I examine the roles of literacy and literature among the Shakers from the opening of Mother Ann Lee\u27s testimony in 1780 through the early twentieth century to propose that the sect persistently resisted and revised the world\u27s literacies. I assert that multiple kinds of reading and writing acts reinforce the beliefs of individuals and the church as a whole, and I argue that the increase in literary acts which appear to contribute to individualism and fragmentation of the institution actually allows Believers to revise their theology so that they see their sect as continuing to grow rather than declining. In Chapter I, Varieties of Literary Experiences, I chronologically survey shifts in the sect\u27s literary endeavors. In Chapter II, Letters, Spirits and Bodies, I define the Shakers\u27 spiritual literacies by exploring relationships between bodily behaviors such as celibacy, theology of an embodied spirit, and literary acts, beginning with examples of Lee recorded in the biographical 1816 Testimonies. Chapters III-VII are case studies of doctrinal treatises, histories, biographies, autobiographies and elegies. In Handbooks to Spiritual Literacies, I analyze Richard McNemar\u27s Kentucky Revival and John Dunlavy\u27s Manifesto to argue that Lee emerges as an absent presence which shapes the writers\u27 faith-strengthening polemical works. In Chapter IV I argue that editors\u27 construction of the 1816 Testimonies and Believers\u27 interpretations of Lee imagery within it depend upon their knowledge of popular texts such as John Bunyan\u27s Pilgrim\u27s Progress and Susanna Rowson\u27s Charlotte Temple. Lee imagery and racial concerns inform the literacies of African-American Rebecca Jackson and her editor Alonzo Hollister, whose autobiographical writings are the focus of Chapter V. In Chapter VI I argue that the Canterbury, New Hampshire, Obituary Journal and elegies within it reflect an increasing sense of individualism and loss as they preserve Shaker literacies. Finally, I demonstrate how Anna White and Leila Taylor, in Shakerism; Its Meaning and Message (1904), revise the stories of Lee\u27s literacy and Shaker educational practices to sketch the sect as progressive. Yet like many prior Believers, they underscore the presence of a spirit which breathes life into their literacies and literature

Linked Lives: Exploring Gender and Sedentary Behaviors in Older Adult Couples

Objectives: We explored associations between co-habiting partners for sedentary behavior (type and time, via accelerometry and self-report), gender, and a surrogate health measure (inflammatory biomarker: C-reactive protein, CRP). Methods: Participants completed activity questionnaires and the Timed Up and Go (mobility), wore an accelerometer for 7 days, and provided samples for high-sensitivity (hs) CRP. We used multilevel modeling (partners within couples) to investigate associations between independent variables and (a) sedentary behavior and (b) hsCRP. Results: 112 couples (50% women) provided sedentary data and hsCRP. Sedentary behavior was significantly correlated (r = .440, p men). Gender, moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and mobility estimated 37% of the modeled variance in sedentary time, while body mass index (BMI) and MVPA estimated 10% of the modeled variance in hsCRP. Discussion: Despite differences in how activity was accumulated, there were no significant differences between women’s and men’s health biomarker.Canadian Institutes of Health Research https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000024michael smith foundation for health research https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000245social sciences and humanities research council of canada https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000155university of british columbia https://doi.org/10.13039/501100005247Peer Reviewe

Daily Affect and Daily Prospective Memory in People after Stroke and Their Partners: The Moderating Role of Resting Heart Rate

Introduction: Experimental research suggests that affect may influence prospective memory performance, but real-life evidence on affect-prospective memory associations is limited. Moreover, most studies have examined the valence dimension of affect in understanding the influence of affect on cognitive performance in daily life, with insufficient consideration of the arousal dimension. To maximize ecological validity, the current study examined the relationships between daily affect and daily prospective memory using repeated daily assessments and the role of resting heart rate on these relationships. We examined both valence and arousal of daily affect by categorizing affect into four dimensions: high-arousal positive affect, low-arousal positive affect, high-arousal negative affect, and low-arousal negative affect. Method: We examined existing data collected from community-dwelling couples, of which at least one partner had a stroke history. The analytic sample included 111 adults (Mage = 67.46 years, SD = 9.64; 50% women) who provided 1,274 days of data. Among the participants, 58 were living with the effects of a stroke and 53 were partners. Participants completed daily event-based prospective memory tasks (in morning and/or evening questionnaires), reported daily affect in the evening, and wore a wrist-based Fitbit device to monitor resting heart rate over 14 consecutive days. Results: Results from multilevel models show that, within persons, elevated high-arousal negative affect was associated with worse daily prospective memory performance. In addition, lower resting heart rate attenuated the inverse association between high-arousal negative affect and lowered prospective memory performance. We did not find significant associations of high- or low-arousal positive affect and low-arousal negative affect with daily prospective memory. Discussion: Our findings are in line with the resource allocation model and the cue-utilization hypothesis in that high-arousal negative affect is detrimental to daily prospective memory performance. Lower resting heart rate may buffer individuals’ prospective memory performance from the influence of high-arousal negative affect. These findings are consistent with the neurovisceral integration model on heart-brain connections, highlighting the possibility that cardiovascular fitness may help maintain prospective memory into older adulthood

Let’s Enjoy an Evening on the Couch? A Daily Life Investigation of Shared Problematic Behaviors in Three Couple Studies

Symptom-system fit theory proposes that problematic behaviors are maintained by the social system (e.g., the couple relationship) in which they occur because they help promote positive relationship functioning in the short-term. Across three daily life studies, we examined whether mixed-gender couples reported more positive relationship functioning on days in which they engaged in more shared problematic behaviors. In two studies (Study 1: 82 couples who smoke; Study 2: 117 couples who are inactive), days of more shared problematic behavior were accompanied by higher daily closeness and relationship satisfaction. A third study with 79 couples post-stroke investigating unhealthy eating failed to provide evidence for symptom-system fit. In exploratory lagged analyses, we found more support for prior-day problematic behavior being associated with next-day daily relationship functioning than vice-versa. Together, findings point to the importance of a systems perspective when studying interpersonal dynamics that might be involved in the maintenance of problematic behaviors

Scenario Planning for Restorative Justice in Lakeland

Final project for URSP708: Community Planning Studio (Fall 2022). University of Maryland, College Park.This report begins with a discussion of the concept of restorative justice and the three themes that guided and organized our work — community infrastructure, housing and land use, and climate change adaptation and mitigation. Following this introduction of the three guiding themes, the report contains a summary of our analysis of existing conditions, including a review of different planning sectors, a brief history of Lakeland, and a summary of plans and policies that have influenced the course of Lakeland. The next section of the report is a summary of the findings of our various community engagement approaches, including recommendations for future best practices for the city and the Restorative Justice Commission as they continue this work. Finally, we present the three planning scenarios — Status Quo, Reform, and Revolutionary — that envision various alternative futures for Lakeland.City of College Par

Appropriate waist circumference cut points for identifying insulin resistance in black youth: a cross sectional analysis of the 1986 Jamaica birth cohort

Background While the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has ethnic specific waist circumference (WC) cut-points for the metabolic syndrome for Asian populations it is not known whether the cut-points for black populations should differ from those for European populations. We examined the validity of IDF WC cut points for identifying insulin resistance (IR), the underlying cause of the metabolic syndrome, in predominantly black, young Jamaican adults. Methods Participants from a 1986 birth cohort were evaluated between 2005 and 2007 when they were 18-20 years old. Trained observers took anthropometric measurements and collected a fasting blood sample. IR was assessed using the homeostasis model assessment computer programme (HOMA-IR). Sex specific quartiles for IR were generated using HOMA-IR values and participants in the highest quartile were classified as "insulin resistant". Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were used to estimate the best WC to identify insulin resistance. The sensitivity and specificity of these values were compared with the IDF recommended WC cut-points. Results Data from 707 participants (315 males; 392females) were analysed. In both sexes those with IR were more obese, had higher mean systolic blood pressure, glucose and triglycerides and lower mean HDL cholesterol. The WC was a good predictor of IR with an ROC area under the curve (95% CI) of 0.71(0.64,0.79) for men and 0.72(0.65,0.79) for women. Using the Youden Index (J) the best WC cut point for identifying IR in male participants was 82 cm (sensitivity 45%, specificity 93%, J 0.38) while the standard cut point of 94 cm had a sensitivity of 14% and specificity of 98% (J 0.12). In the female participants 82 cm was also a good cut point for identifying IR (sensitivity 52%, specificity 87%, J 0.39) and was similar to the standard IDF 80 cm cut point (sensitivity 53%, specificity 82%, J 0.35). Conclusions The WC that identified IR in young black men is lower than the IDF recommended WC cut point. Sex differences in WC cut points for identifying IR were less marked in this population than in other ethnic groups

A test of financial incentives to improve warfarin adherence

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sub-optimal adherence to warfarin places millions of patients at risk for stroke and bleeding complications each year. Novel methods are needed to improve adherence for warfarin. We conducted two pilot studies to determine whether a lottery-based daily financial incentive is feasible and improves warfarin adherence and anticoagulation control.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Volunteers from the University of Pennsylvania Anticoagulation Management Center who had taken warfarin for at least 3 months participated in either a pilot study with a lottery with a daily expected value of $5 (N = 10) or a daily expected value of$3 (N = 10). All subjects received use of an Informedix Med-eMonitor™ System with a daily reminder feature. If subjects opened up their pill compartments appropriately, they were entered into a daily lottery with a 1 in 5 chance of winning $10 and a 1 in 100 chance of winning$100 (pilot 1) or a 1 in 10 chance of winning $10 and a 1 in 100 chance of winning$100 (pilot 2). The primary study outcome was proportion of incorrect warfarin doses. The secondary outcome was proportion of INR measurements not within therapeutic range. Within-subject pre-post comparisons were done of INR measurements with comparisons with either historic means or within-subject comparisons of incorrect warfarin doses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the first pilot, the percent of out-of-range INRs decreased from 35.0% to 12.2% during the intervention, before increasing to 42% post-intervention. The mean proportion of incorrect pills taken during the intervention was 2.3% incorrect pills, compared with a historic mean of 22% incorrect pill taking in this clinic population. Among the five subjects who also had MEMS cap adherence data from warfarin use in our prior study, mean incorrect pill taking decreased from 26% pre-pilot to 2.8% in the pilot. In the second pilot, the time out of INR range decreased from 65.0% to 40.4%, with the proportion of mean incorrect pill taking dropping to 1.6%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A daily lottery-based financial incentive demonstrated the potential for significant improvements in missed doses of warfarin and time out of INR range. Further testing should be done of this approach to determine its effectiveness and potential application to both warfarin and other chronic medications.</p

A large-scale genome-wide association study meta-analysis of cannabis use disorder

Summary Background Variation in liability to cannabis use disorder has a strong genetic component (estimated twin and family heritability about 50–70%) and is associated with negative outcomes, including increased risk of psychopathology. The aim of the study was to conduct a large genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify novel genetic variants associated with cannabis use disorder. Methods To conduct this GWAS meta-analysis of cannabis use disorder and identify associations with genetic loci, we used samples from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium Substance Use Disorders working group, iPSYCH, and deCODE (20 916 case samples, 363 116 control samples in total), contrasting cannabis use disorder cases with controls. To examine the genetic overlap between cannabis use disorder and 22 traits of interest (chosen because of previously published phenotypic correlations [eg, psychiatric disorders] or hypothesised associations [eg, chronotype] with cannabis use disorder), we used linkage disequilibrium score regression to calculate genetic correlations. Findings We identified two genome-wide significant loci: a novel chromosome 7 locus (FOXP2, lead single-nucleotide polymorphism [SNP] rs7783012; odds ratio [OR] 1·11, 95% CI 1·07–1·15, p=1·84 × 10−9) and the previously identified chromosome 8 locus (near CHRNA2 and EPHX2, lead SNP rs4732724; OR 0·89, 95% CI 0·86–0·93, p=6·46 × 10−9). Cannabis use disorder and cannabis use were genetically correlated (rg 0·50, p=1·50 × 10−21), but they showed significantly different genetic correlations with 12 of the 22 traits we tested, suggesting at least partially different genetic underpinnings of cannabis use and cannabis use disorder. Cannabis use disorder was positively genetically correlated with other psychopathology, including ADHD, major depression, and schizophrenia. Interpretation These findings support the theory that cannabis use disorder has shared genetic liability with other psychopathology, and there is a distinction between genetic liability to cannabis use and cannabis use disorder. Funding National Institute of Mental Health; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; National Institute on Drug Abuse; Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine and the Centre for Integrative Sequencing; The European Commission, Horizon 2020; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; Health Research Council of New Zealand; National Institute on Aging; Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium; UK Research and Innovation Medical Research Council (UKRI MRC); The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation; National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering; National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australia; Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program of the University of California; Families for Borderline Personality Disorder Research (Beth and Rob Elliott) 2018 NARSAD Young Investigator Grant; The National Child Health Research Foundation (Cure Kids); The Canterbury Medical Research Foundation; The New Zealand Lottery Grants Board; The University of Otago; The Carney Centre for Pharmacogenomics; The James Hume Bequest Fund; National Institutes of Health: Genes, Environment and Health Initiative; National Institutes of Health; National Cancer Institute; The William T Grant Foundation; Australian Research Council; The Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation; The VISN 1 and VISN 4 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Centers of the US Department of Veterans Affairs; The 5th Framework Programme (FP-5) GenomEUtwin Project; The Lundbeck Foundation; NIH-funded Shared Instrumentation Grant S10RR025141; Clinical Translational Sciences Award grants; National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Institute of General Medical Sciences.Peer reviewe

Association of the OPRM1 Variant rs1799971 (A118G) with Non-Specific Liability to Substance Dependence in a Collaborative de novo Meta-Analysis of European-Ancestry Cohorts

Peer reviewe

Understanding the Return of Genomic Sequencing Results Process: Content Review of Participant Summary Letters in the eMERGE Research Network

A challenge in returning genomic test results to research participants is how best to communicate complex and clinically nuanced findings to participants in a manner that is scalable to the large numbers of participants enrolled. The purpose of this study was to examine the features of genetic results letters produced at each Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE3) Network site to assess their readability and content. Letters were collected from each site, and a qualitative analysis of letter content and a quantitative analysis of readability statistics were performed. Because letters were produced independently at each eMERGE site, significant heterogeneity in readability and content was found. The content of letters varied widely from a baseline of notifying participants that results existed to more detailed information about positive or negative results, as well as materials for sharing with family members. Most letters were significantly above the Centers for Disease Control-suggested reading level for health communication. While continued effort should be applied to make letters easier to understand, the ongoing challenge of explaining complex genomic information, the implications of negative test results, and the uncertainty that comes with some types of test and result makes simplifying letter text challenging