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Conceptualizing the Cult Classification: The Structural Impacts of Mainstream Anti-Cult Ideology
Get PDFOver the past few decades, scholars have discarded the term of ‘cult’ when labeling alternative and emergent religious groups, due to the pejorative connotations associated with the term, instead opting for the classification of ‘New Religious Movement.’ Despite this shift in scholarly terminology, mainstream American society continues to identify unconventional religious groups as cults, evidencing the existence of mainstream anti-cult ideology, and brackets these groups away from the religious realm. This paper explores why this process of delineation occurs, how it affects the perception and portrayal of cults and cult-like groups, and the consequences of anti-cult ideology in the institutional realm
Microtubule stability balances kinesin-mediated cholinergic signaling in C. elegans
No full textNeurons and their signaling properties perform the vital functions of motility and cognition. The essential signaling capabilities of neurons rely on a network of microtubules and motor proteins. This study seeks to clarify the cooperative properties of microtubules and their kinesins by evaluating the transport and release of acetylcholine in the presence of Aldicarb, Colchicine and Taxol. These drug conditions were subjected on wild type and constitutively active klp-4(ok3537) mutant C. elegans. The findings of this study imply that there is a cooperative balance between microtubule acetylation/stability and klp-4 activity which allows for the optimization of signaling properties. When constitutively active, the rate of acetylcholine transport and signaling is limited only by microtubule stability. Whereas the neuronal function of wild type C. elegans is also limited by the autoinhibited properties of unaltered klp-4
Reducing the Obesity Epidemic Globally
Get PDFThe consumption of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has caused a global obesity epidemic that has several health implications such as type two diabetes, fatty liver disease, kidney failure, oxidative stress, insulin resistance, multiple types of cancer, and pathogenesis of cardiometabolic diseases (Johnson et al., 2013; Malik and Hu, 2015; Romieu et al., 2017; Softic et al., 2016). The prevalence of obesity in the United States was evaluated by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and reported that USA was at 39.8 percent, which is a significant risk factor for the development of type two diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (Mejia and Pearlman, 2019). Furthermore, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Report on Diabetes estimated that 422 million adults were living with diabetes worldwide in 2014 (Mejia and Pearlman, 2019). Inside the bounds of this data includes shocking numbers of children with obesity, 41 million under the age of five years old documented in 2014 (Romieu et al., 2017). Awareness of these statistics have placed multiple countries around the world at risk of obesity with corresponding chronic health complications. In regards to the correlations between obesity rates and how developed a country is, the frequency of obesity tends to increase generally with the income level of a country (Romieu et al., 2017). Essentially, the obesity prevalence is more pronounced in high-income and upper-middle-income countries than it is in low-income countries (Romieu et al., 2017). When addressing the goal of reducing the occurrence of obesity and fulfilling the third SDG, it’s necessary to recognize where the prevalence of this disease lies and why it is occurring in order to take measures to tackle it. Factors such as genetics, age, socioeconomic status, level of physical activity, type of behavior, and dietary patterns all contribute to the propagation of this epidemic and demonstrate the complexity of reversing it as many of these components are interrelated (Bray and Popkin, 2014; Johnson et al., 2013; Malik and Hu, 2015; Romieu et al., 2017). To combat this public health issue globally, reduction of daily intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages through adjustments in dietary patterns, policy interventions addressing consumption/advertisement of sugar-sweetened foods by agribusinesses and corporations in society, and utilization of natural sweeteners are current measures that hold potential to reduce this global obesity epidemic (Johnson et al., 2013; Malik and Hu, 2015; Mejia and Pearlman, 2019; Romieu et al., 2017)
A Devised Ethnodrama: Conscious Voices
Get PDFUsing techniques of storytelling, dance, poems, and monologues in the process of re-enacting life stories, the ensemble display issues that may be impeding society’s growth—discrimination against body image, blackness, females, and LGBTQ individuals. In addition, engagement in storytelling and performance can help the audience increase their cognitive skills, empathy, and ability to live a communal life. This evidence-based practice can transform lives and society. It has the potential of continuing to other faculties and with other departments, such as film, musical, and additional narratives. This specific work could be extended out beyond art and education into populations of any communities in need of finding equitable inclusivity and further its maximum potential. This work seeks to help these people identify barriers for further growth by using theatre techniques such as sharing and scripting their life stories. Using real-life stories written by people who have suffered discrimination, a devised ethnodrama Conscious Voices seeks to identify the systematic challenges these people face on a daily basis, that in most cases, are the root-causes of their stress, depression, pain, or disconnection from their environment. Applying the concepts of community, social justice, and equality as a lens, this work will attempt to corroborate, as a universal postulate, that the process of sharing life stories can have transformative effects on the sharing individuals and that theatre techniques, such as conversational topics and scripting, can help identify our weaknesses to create an equitable, inclusive, diverse America. Essential to the transformative component of this work is the devising process of theatre as a mechanism of renewal and support. What social justice devised theatre may offer are the tent posts that uphold the tent of society’s well-being, and henceforth humanity