Girlhood

Girlhood is the anatomy of a girl’s soul. Her life is remembered through creative nonfiction essays and poems. The subjects include female menstruation, female trauma and pain, sex addiction, a search for love, and the insecurities surrounding a twenty-something girl who is not yet a woman

Treatment-resistant ophthalmoplegia in myasthenia gravis: Clinical, molecular and functional studies of patient-derived orbital tissues

Introduction: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an immune-mediated disorder affecting the neuromuscular junction. Weakness of the extraocular muscles (EOMs) occurs frequently in MG and typically responds to immune therapies similarly to the non-ocular muscles. Susceptible individuals with the ophthalmoplegic subphenotype of MG (OP-MG), which occurs almost exclusively in acetylcholine receptor positive MG (AChR-MG), may manifest treatmentresistant extraocular muscle weakness despite the use of standard immune therapies. The pathogenetic mechanisms involved in the development of treatment-resistant ophthalmoplegia in MG are still unknown and no effective treatment currently exists. Aim: To investigate the molecular-genetic pathogenesis of the OP-MG subphenotype. Methods: Triangulation of data from clinical observations, review of MG muscle biopsy histopathology, gene expression studies in OP-MG patient-derived orbital muscles (AChR-MG) and bioenergetic studies in highly specialised perimysial ocular fibroblasts of these OP-MG cases was used to identify the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms of OP-MG and to verify previous hypotheses generated by next generation sequencing studies. Results: Myasthenic ophthalmoparesis may persist despite immune therapies in 40% of cases in the first year of immune treatment. Delay to diagnosis of MG and therefore initiation of treatment (>1 year) was an unfavourable prognostic factor for resolution of ophthalmoparesis and suggested that with prolonged weakness, pathological changes may occur at the level of the muscle. Review of the literature documenting histopathology in MG muscle biopsies showed that neurogenic atrophy and features of mitochondrial stress, which may be secondary consequences of functional denervation and reduced contractility, are frequently observed in MG muscle biopsies and the EOMs may be particularly susceptible, demonstrating features of fatty and fibrocellular replacement of myofibres. Gene expression studies performed in the orbital muscles of OP-MG and non-MG control cases supported the hypotheses of previous unbiased genomic studies showing that genes harbouring OP-MG associated gene variants may be involved in a dysregulated network of genes including genes in pathways involved in atrophy signalling, muscle contractility and mitochondrial homeostasis. Several genes were significantly downregulated in the OP-MG orbital muscles compared with controls. MicroRNAs which are biological regulators of gene expression, were hypothesized to be a potential pathogenetic mechanism causing downregulation of these genes in OP-MG orbital muscles and several microRNAs highly expressed in EOMs were associated with the significantly repressed genes in OP-MG orbital muscle using available data in public microRNA databases. Preliminary dynamic bioenergetic assays in perimysial ocular fibroblasts derived from the EOM myotendons of OP-MG and non-MG control cases suggested that regulation of mitochondrial homeostasis may be altered in the context of MG. Conclusion: Gene expression analyses in patient-derived orbital muscles support the hypotheses of previous genomic studies suggesting that pathogenetic mechanisms involving pathways relating to muscle atrophy, contractility and mitochondrial homeostasis may by triggered in the EOMs in the context of MG. Dysregulation of these pathways is likely to impact EOM regeneration in the context of MG-induced complement-mediated attack as well as contractility in this specialized muscle allotype with a high firing rate. These complex aberrant molecular-genetic interactions may contribute to persistent ophthalmoplegia despite adequate immune therapies in OP-MG cases

Inclusive Sex Education in Schools

This is in the context of a newsletter to parents informing them of the importance of inclusive sex education for teens as well as informing them of important key works and their meanings so they can help facilitate informed conversations with their children as well.https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/gender_studies/1025/thumbnail.jp

Fundamentos psicosociales de la educación de adultos

Desde la perspectiva de este artículo se analizan las bases psicosociales mas relevantes en la educación de adultos. Se efectúa un análisis del contexto en el que se desarrolla en estos momentos la educación de adultos, un contexto cambiante en el que desde una sociedad industrial se pasa a una sociedad postindustrial. En este tipo de sociedad a la que decididamente nos encaminamos, aparecen unas condiciones de tipo sociológico y cultural que determinan el horizonte de la educación de adultos. Además de estas condiciones de cambio y transformación de conocimientos postindustriales, existen otras condiciones psicológicas y pedagógicas que desarrollan e inciden de forma más particular en las relaciones que el individuo establece con su formación. De entre estas condiciones se analizan los factores socio-emocionales que condicionan la conducta de aprendizaje de los adultos (actitudes básicas, necesidades fundamentales respecto al aprender en un grupo y expectativas sobre el curso). Todo ello conlleva el poder afirmar, como conclusión, que es preciso enfocar una educación de adultos desde una perspectiva de la educación permanente que prepare para la anticipación y la innovación, en vez de hacerlo preponderantemente, como hasta ahora, para la adaptación.This article analyses the most outstanding psychosocial aspects of adult education. The context in which adult education is taking place at present is also analysed, that is, a changing context, a movement from an industrial society to a post-industrial society. In this type of society towards which we are undoubtedly moving, there is a series of sociological and cultural conditions that determine the future of adult education. Besides these conditions of change and transformation of post-industrial knowledge, there are other psychological and pedagogical conditions that directly affect and develop the relationship which the individual establishes with his own education. Amongst these we analyse the socio-emotional factors that condition the learning behaviour of adults (basic attitudes, fundamental needs with regard to learning in a group and expectations regarding the course). From all this we conclude that it is necessary to approach adult education from a continuing education perspective that will train the adults capacity to anticipate and innovate, and not only adapt, which has been, until recently, the main tendency

Papel de la tecnología en la enseñanza no formal : reflexiones desde la práctica

A través de la experiencia de varios años en el campo de la enseñanza se ha llegado a la conclusión de que la relación diseño tecnológico y modelo pedagógico es fundamental para una verdadera eficacia. En el modelo pedagógico de reproducción 10s objetivos, en nuestro caso en el campo de Seguridad e Higiene, pretenden una repetición de conocimientos y vincular una serie de hábitos. Con ello se pretende que exista menos probabilidad de accidente y enfermedad. Se pretende la repetición de un modelo. A este Modelo Pedagógico de Reproducción el diseño que mejor se le acomoda es el "tradicional". Este modelo pedagógico se está sustituyendo lentamente por el Modelo Pedagógico de adaptación. El objetivo que con este modelo se pretende es preparar a los individuos para su adaptación de forma activa a las exigencias nuevas de trabajo; a mayor toma de conciencia menor posibilidad de deterioro de la salud. Se pretende que el sujeto sea capaz por sí solo de protegerse, dar la alarma ante el peligro, denunciar una situación, etc. Para este Modelo Pedagógico de Adaptación el diseño tecnológico apropiado es el de la tecnologia educativa actual. El individuo debe tomar conciencia y desarrollo personal mediante concienciaciones de grupo. En estos momentos los objetivos educativos en el campo de la protección de la salud en el trabajo están cambiando. Por ello se precisa un nuevo diseño tecnológico adaptado a un nuevo modelo pedagógico. El Modelo Pedagógico de Producción. La idea madre del MPP reside en que a mayor apropiación cognitiva de lo real, mayor probabilidad de cambio en las condiciones de trabajo dentro del campo de la protección de la salud en el trabajo. El individuo es agente de su formación y actúa asimismo socialmente. Este modelo de producción pretende que antes de plantear objetivos y planificar su ejecución, se analicen las condiciones de la situación real diaria y las relaciones y dimensiones sociales entre las personas.Through various years of experience in the teaching field, the conclusion is arrived that the relationship between technological design and pedagogical model is fundamental for a true efficiency. In the educational model of reproduction, the objectives, in the field of Security and Hygiene, endeavour the repetition of knowledge and relate a series of habits. Doing so, it pretends to lessen probabilities of accident and infirmities. The repetition of a model is endeavoured. In this Educational model of Reproduction, the best appropriate design in the "traditional". This educational method is intended to prepare the individuals for an active adaptation to the new working requirements; with greater consciousness, less possibility of health deterioration. It intends to make the subject to be able to protect himself, give warning where there is danger, denounce a situation, etc. For this Pedagogic Method of Adaptation, the appropriate technological design in that of present educational technology. The individual has to take conscience and personal development through group conscientizations. In these moments, the learning objectives in the health prevention field are changing. For this, a new adapted technological design is necessary: the Pedagogical Model of Production (PMP). The model idea of the PMP resides in the fact that in greater cognitive appropriation of the real, major change probability in the working conditions in the field of health preventions in the job. The individual is the agent of his own formation as is also socially. This production model intends to analyze the conditions of the real daily situation and relationships and social dimensions between the persons before establishing its objectives and the planning of its realization

Lot-Sizing Problem for a Multi-Item Multi-level Capacitated Batch Production System with Setup Carryover, Emission Control and Backlogging using a Dynamic Program and Decomposition Heuristic

Wagner and Whitin (1958) develop an algorithm to solve the dynamic Economic Lot-Sizing Problem (ELSP), which is widely applied in inventory control, production planning, and capacity planning. The original algorithm runs in O(T^2) time, where T is the number of periods of the problem instance. Afterward few linear-time algorithms have been developed to solve the Wagner-Whitin (WW) lot-sizing problem; examples include the ELSP and equivalent Single Machine Batch-Sizing Problem (SMBSP). This dissertation revisits the algorithms for ELSPs and SMBSPs under WW cost structure, presents a new efficient linear-time algorithm, and compares the developed algorithm against comparable ones in the literature. The developed algorithm employs both lists and stacks data structure, which is completely a different approach than the rest of the algorithms for ELSPs and SMBSPs. Analysis of the developed algorithm shows that it executes fewer number of basic actions throughout the algorithm and hence it improves the CPU time by a maximum of 51.40% for ELSPs and 29.03% for SMBSPs. It can be concluded that the new algorithm is faster than existing algorithms for both ELSPs and SMBSPs. Lot-sizing decisions are crucial because these decisions help the manufacturer determine the quantity and time to produce an item with a minimum cost. The efficiency and productivity of a system is completely dependent upon the right choice of lot-sizes. Therefore, developing and improving solution procedures for lot-sizing problems is key. This dissertation addresses the classical Multi-Level Capacitated Lot-Sizing Problem (MLCLSP) and an extension of the MLCLSP with a Setup Carryover, Backlogging and Emission control. An item Dantzig Wolfe (DW) decomposition technique with an embedded Column Generation (CG) procedure is used to solve the problem. The original problem is decomposed into a master problem and a number of subproblems, which are solved using dynamic programming approach. Since the subproblems are solved independently, the solution of the subproblems often becomes infeasible for the master problem. A multi-step iterative Capacity Allocation (CA) heuristic is used to tackle this infeasibility. A Linear Programming (LP) based improvement procedure is used to refine the solutions obtained from the heuristic method. A comparative study of the proposed heuristic for the first problem (MLCLSP) is conducted and the results demonstrate that the proposed heuristic provide less optimality gap in comparison with that obtained in the literature. The Setup Carryover Assignment Problem (SCAP), which consists of determining the setup carryover plan of multiple items for a given lot-size over a finite planning horizon is modelled as a problem of finding Maximum Weighted Independent Set (MWIS) in a chain of cliques. The SCAP is formulated using a clique constraint and it is proved that the incidence matrix of the SCAP has totally unimodular structure and the LP relaxation of the proposed SCAP formulation always provides integer optimum solution. Moreover, an alternative proof that the relaxed ILP guarantees integer solution is presented in this dissertation. Thus, the SCAP and the special case of the MWIS in a chain of cliques are solvable in polynomial time

The eco-physiology of two contrasting arid-zone woodlands in Australia

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Science.Semi-arid and arid ecosystems occupy 45 % of the Earth’s land surface and approximately 40 % of the global population live in arid and semi-arid regions. Ecosystem productivity in these regions is constrained by water availability, which is in general erratic, spatially variable and confined to short periods during the wet season. Globally, semi-arid and arid ecosystems dominate the inter-annual variability of the global land carbon (C) sink. In particular, Australian semi-arid and arid regions were estimated to account for 60 % of the 2011 global land carbon sink anomaly (GLSA). Despite the importance of these Australian arid and semi-arid environments, mechanisms that explain variability in rates of C uptake (at regional- and global-scales) and trends are poorly understood, and these ecosystems remain little studied. Australia is an extensive and flat continent, of which 70 % is arid or semi-arid land. Two biomes dominate the central semi-arid region: (1) Mulga woodland, dominated by species of the genus Acacia (shallow rooted N₂-fixing trees, from the Mulga complex of species); and (2) open Corymbia savanna where the dominant cover is spinifex (a C4 grass) with widely spaced tall evergreen Corymbia trees. These two ecosystems are found within the Ti-Tree Basin, Northern Territory Australia, where two eddy covariance systems has been in operation for the past 4 and 7 years within a Mulga woodland and Corymbia savanna respectively. The main objective of this research was to investigate ecosystem functioning of the two semi-arid woodlands, in order to improve our understanding of the interaction of terrestrial semi-arid ecosystems with the atmosphere, through measurements of C and water fluxes at ecosystem- and leaf-scales. The overall hypothesis was that differences in ecosystem vegetation composition and structure would be significant factors explaining differences in C and water fluxes across two disparate ecosystems. To accomplish this general objective, C and water fluxes were evaluated at different temporal-scales (i.e., diurnal, seasonal, annual and inter-annual) and different spatial-scales (from plot- to leaf-scales) within a Mulga woodland and a Corymbia savanna. I employed three different approaches to evaluate C and water fluxes: i) eddy covariance data (at plot-scale); ii) a range of in situ eco-physiological investigations (at leaf-scale); and iii) glasshouse experimentation (at leaf- and whole-plant-scale). In 2011 during the GLSA, the Mulga woodland captured 131 g C m⁻² y⁻¹ and total annual precipitation was 565 mm. The most recent hydrological year studied (August to July 2016-2017) had the largest annual rainfall recorded during my monitoring of ecosystem fluxes (713 mm) and net ecosystem production (NEP) was 217 gC m⁻² y⁻¹. In contrast to the Mulga woodland, the open Corymbia-savanna was a C source across most years (2012 to 2016), with NEP ranging between -14 and -190 gC m⁻² y⁻¹, but was a C sink during 2016-2017 with NEP of 115 gC m⁻² y⁻¹. As a result of continuous monitoring of C fluxes, precipitation thresholds at which the two semi-arid woodlands switched from C source to C sink were identified for the first time. The pivot-point for the Mulga woodland was 262 mm y⁻¹ and 506 mm y⁻¹ for the Corymbia savanna. The two semi-arid woodlands experience the same climatic conditions; hence, I observed that different climatic drivers (i.e., temperature, vapour pressure, soil water content) exerted similar influences over C and water fluxes across seasons. Intra-annual variability in C and water fluxes was mostly attributed to differences in SWC across seasons. However, different eco-physiological behaviours of co-occurring species within the Mulga woodland and Corymbia savanna contributed to explain differences in C and water fluxes between them. Dominant species at the Mulga woodland are highly adapted to periods of low water availability. Thus Mulga species were very water-use-efficient (WUE: trade-off between C gain per water loss) compared to species at the Corymbia savanna. This was demonstrated when evaluating responses of the g₁ parameter (as a proxy of intrinsic water-use-efficiency; WUEᵢ) to water availability. The Mulga woodland (at ecosystem- and leaf-scale) demonstrated large capacity for water consumption in wet periods and the plasticity to become highly WUE when experiencing water scarcity. In contrast, dominant species at the Corymbia savanna had larger water use (i.e., large stomatal conductance, at ecosystem-scale large rates of evapotranspiration) thus, smaller WUE compared to species at the Mulga woodland. The C4 spinifex grass can be highly productive at the Corymbia savanna during wet periods and, it is likely that the biomass produced during 2010-2011 was the fuel for photo-degradation of leaf litter, particularly of spinifex leaves in subsequent years, and this can explain the large negative NEP observed at the Corymbia savanna for much of the study period. One of the novel aspects of the present research was to evaluate how soil water content drives WUE using the theory of the optimal stomata behaviour through the g₁ parameter (a normalized metric of intrinsic water-use efficiency: ᵢWUE) and compered g₁ values estimated from three different methods (leaf gas exchange, carbon isotopes and eddy covariance fluxes). Here my result showed discrepancies among methods and seasons. Thus, Seasonal and annual variation in g₁ derived from the three methods in this present study highlights the concern that the generic use of constant values of g₁ to describe stomatal functioning is not reliable when parameterizing global climate models (Medlyn et al., 2017; Wolz et al., 2017). My research at a leaf-scale highlighted the importance of species-specific attributes in driving C fluxes in semi-arid Australia. Integrating plant eco-physiological responses of dominant species is an essential step for improving our understanding of C flux rates within a Mulga woodland and Corymbia savanna. Comparing semi-arid ecosystems contributes to our understanding of ecosystem functioning and mechanisms underlying variability in rates of C and water flux within different ecosystems, which bring us closer to understanding global variability in C cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. The research at a leaf-scale highlighted the importance of species-specific attributes of co-occurring species driving C fluxes in central Australia. Understanding functional processes (i.e., C assimilation, stomatal behaviours plant water status) and the vegetation responses across different plant species and ecosystems is crucial for improving our ability to predict global change. There is now an opportunity to evaluate the inclusion of in situ observations and account for variations of C and water fluxes when applying earth systems models and terrestrial vegetation C models at regional- and global-scales