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Relative meaningfulness and impacts of symptoms in people with early-stage Parkinson’s disease
Get PDFBackground: Patient perspectives on meaningful symptoms and impacts in early Parkinson’s disease (PD) is lacking, and is urgently needed to clarify priority areas for monitoring, management, and new therapies.
Objective: To examine experiences of people with early-stage PD, systematically describe meaningful symptoms and impacts, and determine which are most bothersome or important.
Methods: Forty adults with early PD (≤ 2 years diagnosis) who participated in a study evaluating smartwatch and smartphone digital measures (WATCH-PD study) completed online interviews with symptom mapping to hierarchically delineate symptoms and impacts of disease from “Most bothersome” to “Not present,” and to identify which of these were viewed as most important and why. Individual symptom maps were coded for types, frequencies, and bothersomeness of symptoms and their impacts, with thematic analysis of narratives to explore perceptions.
Results: The three most bothersome and important symptoms were tremor, fine motor difficulties, and slow movements. Symptoms most commonly impacted sleep, job functioning, exercise, communication, relationships, and self-concept—expressed as a sense of being limited by PD. Thematically, most bothersome symptoms were those that were personally limiting with broadest negative impact on well-being and activities. However, symptoms could be important to patients even when not present, bothersome, or limiting (e.g., speech, cognition).
Conclusion: Meaningful symptoms of early PD can include symptoms that are present or anticipated future symptoms that are important to the individual. Systematic assessment of meaningful symptoms should aim to assess the extent to which symptoms are personally important, present, bothersome, and limiting
Freely dissolved Organochlorine Pesticides (OCPs) and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) along the Indus River Pakistan: Spatial pattern and Risk assessment
Get PDFFreely dissolved OCPs and PCBs were measured by using polyethylene passive samplers at 15 sites during 2014 throughout the stretch of the Indus River to investigate the spatial pattern and risk assess. Levels (pg/L) of dissolved ∑OCPs and ∑PCBs ranged from 34 to 1600 and from 3 to 230. Among the detected OCPs, dissolved DDTs (p,p′-DDE, followed by p,p′-DDT) predominated with levels of 0.48 to 220 pg/L. The order of occurrence for other studied OCPs was as follows: HCB, endosulfans, chlordanes, and HCHs. Spatially, dissolved (pg/L) ∑OCPs varied (p \u3c 0.05) as the following: surface water of the alluvial riverine zone (ARZ) showed the highest levels (114) followed by the frozen mountain zone (FMZ) (52.9), low-lying zone (LLZ) (28.73), and wet mountain zone (WMZ) (14.43), respectively. However, our zone-wise PCB data did not exhibit significant differences (p \u3e 0.05). Principal component analysis/multilinear regression results showed pesticide usage in the crop/orchard fields and health sector, electric and electronic materials, and widespread industrial activities as the main source of OCPs and PCBs along the Indus River. Our results showed that OCPs and PCBs contaminated water intake, playing an important role towards the considerable cancer/non-cancer risk (HI and CR values) along the Indus River Flood-Plain
How Covid-19 will change the future of film and television in the United States
Get PDFMarch 2020 marked a turning point in U.S. culture as Covid-19 swept across the globe. As of today, the pandemic has taken over six million lives worldwide. Along with the large death toll, Covid has changed so much about the way we interact with others, the way we conduct business and the way we talk about our health. It has even begun to change the film and television we consume and how we consume it. So, what is the future of U.S. film and television in a post Covid-19 society? To answer this question, we can look towards another tragic turning point in U.S. history to analyze how Hollywood responded to shifting values and perceptions following great change. I chose to look at how the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States affected the film and television industry in the many years following the tragedy that killed almost 3,000 people. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, much of the United States public simply wanted to forget what had occurred on that day. It wasn’t until several years later, once the public was able to process the tragedy, that stories reminiscent of the attacks began to emerge and gain popularity. By analyzing films and TV shows from that era, we can compare the similarities between the changes that 9/11 brought to Hollywood and the changes in film and television that are already emerging two years since Covid-19 came to the United States. I predict that the changes to Hollywood caused by Covid-19 will be very similar to the effect 9/11 had on the industry and will change film and television as we currently know it
Generation of a More Immunogenic FH VLP Platform to Support Covid-19 Vaccine Development
Get PDFThe SARS-CoV-2 based pandemic has seen almost a million deaths in just the United States according to the CDC. This number is due to the increase of variants of COVID-19, therefore calling a demand in vaccine production. Vaccine adjuvants and carriers have been studied to increase the immunogenicity and safety of a variety of immunizations. Flagellin fused Hepatitis B core (FH) virus like particles (VLP) has been studied to have beneficial effects of TLR5, IL6 levels, and lack of body temperature rise in murine study. The FH platform also provides an improvement from its predecessors FljB alone which is a TLR5 agonist and HBc alone which results in malformation of the VLP. Using this knowledge of the increased immune response FH has as a carrier, it was proposed that it may suit combating the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic we currently face. The spike protein subunit 1 (S1) provides for a potential contender in inducing COVID-19 protection due to its containment of the receptor binding domain. By using the S1 subunit, we aim to construct the expression vector to express the novel VLP vaccine. For the results currently, successful completion of aim 1 and aim 2 for construction of the expression vector through molecular cloning as well as expression and purification of the constructed protein
Delving into the Forbidden: Banned and Challenged Literature Syllabus
Get PDF“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them,” (Ray Bradbury).
Literature is a mirror which unites even the most unlikely characters, invites us to reflect on our lives, promotes critical thinking and discussion as well as explores the themes of humanity over time. As the world around us changes, then, it is only natural that literature changes along with it. Exposure to literature of many kinds can only aid in the development of a richer appreciation for the world around us and the many lives within it.
Further, the consistent evolution of our society is a domino effect which eventually reaches our students. High school is an especially transformative period for students in which they are grappling with ideas relating to their identity. In an attempt to meet students where they are at and humanize those who feel isolated, educators must rise to the challenge of preparing students within this ever-changing environment. This involves learning to advocate for the inclusion of diverse literature and perspectives in the classroom.
In response to the need to develop an inclusive classroom, I have created a mock syllabus which involves and justifies the use of challenged literature. This ranges from the use of banned books, contemporary/young adult literature, literature written by authors of a variety of backgrounds and additionally, encouraging the development of media literacy. This syllabus aims to seek a balance between classics and contemporary work.
As opposed to avoiding a topic which may be deemed controversial and shutting down the natural curiosity of adolescents, an educator must be fully prepared with the right tools. It is necessary as a future educator to understand state and national standards, policies as well as the opinions of administration, parents, and community members all while keeping students’ best interest at heart. This project takes each of these concerns into account
A pathogen outside its host: F. tularensis survival in water
Get PDFFrancisella tularensis is a Gram-negative pathogenic bacterium and is the causative agent for tularemia. While our understanding of F. tularensis survival in the environment is limited, it is clear they can persist in freshwater aquatic environments for long periods of time. Currently, there is a gap in knowledge with the understanding of the genes involved with the long-term survival of F. tularensis in an aquatic environment. In the laboratory setting, it has been found that lower temperatures seem to allow longer survival. The aim of this project is to identify laboratory conditions that allow F. tularensis to survive longterm in freshwater, so in the future I can identify the genes required for this survival. To find this information, I prepared samples of LVS F. tularensis in freshwater that were incubated in triplicate at three different temperatures, 4°C, 16°C, and 25°C. The timepoints that I assessed were days 0, 1, 4, 7, 14, and 21. To determine the number of viable bacteria, I performed serial dilutions of each sample and plated them on solid growth media. Every plate was placed in the incubator for a minimum of two days or until the colonies were large enough to count. I counted the plates to measure CFU, colony forming unit, to determine the number of viable cells. We found that the optimal temperature is 4°C as the largest number of cells remained viable the longest duration at this condition. We are also piloting viable cell counting by flow cytometry
Moderation of the Association between Primary Language and Health by Race and Gender: An Intersectional Approach
Get PDFIn the United States (US), limited English proficiency is associated with a higher risk of obesity and diabetes. “Intersectionality”, or the interconnected nature of social categorizations, such as race/ethnicity and gender, creates interdependent systems of disadvantage, which impact health and create complex health inequities. How these patterns are associated with language-based health inequities is not well understood. The study objective was to assess the potential for race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status to jointly moderate the association between primary language (English/Spanish) and having obesity and diabetes. Using the 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (n = 431,045), weighted generalized linear models with a logistic link were used to estimate the associations between primary language (English/Spanish) and obesity and diabetes status, adjusting for confounders using stratification for the intersections of gender and race/ethnicity (White, Black, Other). Respondents whose primary language was Spanish were 11.6% more likely to have obesity (95% CI 7.4%, 15.9%) and 15.1% more likely to have diabetes (95% CI 10.1%, 20.3%) compared to English speakers. Compared to English speakers, Spanish speakers were more likely to have both obesity (p \u3c 0.001) and diabetes (p \u3c 0.001) among White females. Spanish speakers were also more likely to have obesity among males and females of other races/ethnicities (p \u3c 0.001 for both), and White females (p = 0.042). Among males of other racial/ethnic classifications, Spanish speakers were less likely to have both obesity (p = 0.011) and diabetes (p = 0.005) than English speakers. Health promotion efforts need to recognize these differences and critical systems–change efforts designed to fundamentally transform underlying conditions that lead to health inequities should also consider these critical sociodemographic factors to maximize their effectiveness
pHLIP Peptides Target Acidity in Activated Macrophages
No full textPurpose: Acidity can be a useful alternative biomarker for the targeting of metabolically active cells in certain diseased tissues, as in acute inflammation or aggressive tumors. We investigated the targeting of activated macrophages by pH low insertion peptides (pHLIPs), an established technology for targeting cell-surface acidity. Procedures: The uptake of fluorescent pHLIPs by activated macrophages was studied in cell cultures, in a mouse model of lung inflammation, and in a mouse tumor model. Fluorescence microscopy, whole-body and organ imaging, immunohistochemistry, and FACS analysis were employed. Results: We find that cultured, activated macrophages readily internalize pHLIPs. The uptake is higher in glycolytic macrophages activated by LPS and INF-γ compared to macrophages activated by IL-4/IL-13. Fluorescent pHLIPs target LPS-induced lung inflammation in mice. In addition to marking cancer cells within the tumor microenvironment, fluorescent pHLIPs target CD45+, CD11b+, F4/80+, and CD206+ tumor-associated macrophages with no significant targeting of other immune cells. Also, fluorescent pHLIPs target CD206-positive cells found in the inguinal lymph nodes of animals inoculated with breast cancer cells in mammary fat pads. Conclusions: pHLIP peptides sense low cell surface pH, which triggers their insertion into the cell membrane. Unlike cancerous cells, activated macrophages do not retain inserted pHLIPs on their surfaces, instead their highly active membrane recycling moves the pHLIPs into endosomes. Targeting activated macrophages in diseased tissues may enable clinical visualization and therapeutic opportunities
Electrolytes Containing Triethyl Phosphate Solubilized Lithium Nitrate for Improved Silicon Anode Performance
Get PDFAn electrolyte consisting of lithium nitrate (LiNO3) and lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate (LiDFOB) in ethylene carbonate (EC), ethylmethyl carbonate (EMC), and triethyl phosphate (TEP) is used to improve the long-term cycling stability of silicon anodes. TEP was selected for its ability to dissolve LiNO3 in carbonates to a concentration of ∼0.2 M. The large amount of LiNO3 combined with the LiDFOB salt leads to a capacity retention of 87.1% after one hundred cycles due to the formation of a relatively stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). Ex-situ surface analysis reveals that the SEI consists of oxalates, lithium alkyl carbonates, borates, and nitrate reduction products. By selecting two components which are preferentially reduced (LiNO3 and LiDFOB), the SEI is able to inhibit continuous solvent decomposition and allows for improved electrochemical cycling for pure silicon anodes