Alliance One Tobacco (Malawi)
Academic Research Repository at the Institute of Developing EconomiesNot a member yet
52305 research outputs found
Sort by
'The Fourth Estate in Medicine' — The History of the Medical Journal and the Medical Profession in the United States, 1797–Present
No full textAuthor's Origina
Reform, Racism, and Propaganda: How a Progressive Era Lens Transformed the Japanese Immigration Discourse in America, 1906-1924
No full textAbstract
This thesis examines the transformation of regional anti-Japanese sentiment in California into national exclusionary policy through strategic propaganda campaigns between 1906 and 1924. Through comparative biographical analysis of four central figures—exclusionist leaders Olaf Tveitmoe and James Phelan alongside inclusionist advocates Yamato Ichihashi and Sidney Gulick—this study reveals how deliberate narrative construction elevated local prejudices to national immigration policy. The research demonstrates that the exclusionists’ success stemmed not merely from widespread racism or economic anxieties, but from sophisticated propaganda techniques that framed Japanese immigration as an existential threat to American identity while portraying inclusionists as traitors to the nation.
These competing propaganda campaigns drew upon distinct ideological frameworks about American identity and social evolution. Exclusionists embraced biological determinism that portrayed Japanese immigrants as permanently unassimilable based on race, while inclusionists argued for cultural adaptation and education as pathways to inclusion. Paradoxically, inclusionist arguments emphasizing Japanese immigrants’ educational achievements and economic contributions inadvertently planted seeds of what would later become the “model minority” stereotype.
Drawing on archival sources including personal papers, organizational records, and contemporary media, this research analyzes how Tveitmoe’s labor organizing and Phelan’s political networks created emotionally resonant narratives that proved remarkably resilient against rational, evidence-based counterarguments offered by Stanford professor Ichihashi and missionary Gulick. The study reveals a fundamental asymmetry: while exclusionists wielded emotional appeals about racial threats and national security, inclusionists relied on statistical data and policy analysis.
By focusing on the “who” and the “how” rather than simply the “why” of Japanese exclusion, this research illuminates the precise mechanisms through which racial ideology became enshrined in policy, establishing precedents that continue to influence contemporary immigration debates.Extension Studie
Risk Factors Associated with Progression and Future Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography
No full textCoronary artery disease (CAD) is a complex disease influenced by multifaceted risk factors, including genetics and novel biomarkers. Despite advancements in managing traditional cardiovascular risk factors, CAD continues to pose major risks of mortality and morbidity globally. Many patients sustain adverse outcomes and complications of CAD despite optimal medical therapy and excellent control of these risk factors. This persistent risk underscores the need for a deeper understanding of residual risk to better stratify patients with CAD, highlighting the importance of exploring novel biomarkers that could better predict the risk of outcomes, especially in a secondary prevention context.
Given the high heritability of CAD, integrating genomic information plays an important role in patient risk stratification. Genetic factors, including germline variations–both monogenic, such as Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH), and polygenic liabilities, as represented by a polygenic risk score (PRS)– and somatic variants, such as clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) have been robustly linked to the incidence of CAD in large cohort studies. However, the role of these genomic drivers in a secondary prevention paradigm, particularly after coronary angiography, requires further extensive exploration.
Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is another important marker of residual risk associated with major cardiovascular events. This low-density lipoprotein, whose circulating concentrations in the plasma are largely genetically determined, is elevated in approximately 20% of the world’s population. Every 50 nmol/L increase in Lp(a) is associated with an 11% increased risk of incident atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Currently, American and European guidelines recommend Lp(a) testing at least once in a lifetime for adults, regardless of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Despite its recognized role, the impact of elevated Lp(a) on long-term outcomes following coronary angiography remains underexplored, necessitating further studies into its implications for secondary prevention.
To investigate these aspects, we studied patients undergoing coronary angiography, the gold standard for diagnosing and evaluating coronary phenotypes and severity. In this cohort of individuals with CAD or a high likelihood for the disease, we aimed to understand whether (1) genomic predisposition to CAD and (2) the novel lipid biomarker, Lipoprotein(a), correlate with specific angiographic characteristics and track progression and future outcomes. We hypothesized that these factors are associated with more severe coronary phenotypes and increased risks of adverse outcomes, either clinically or angiographically, following initial coronary angiography.Graduate Educatio
Relocating Christianity in China: A Decolonial Reading of DaTong and Heaven/Paradise
No full textAs an ancient utopian pursuit, the Confucian idea of Da Tong (大同) deeply shapes and influences Chinese spirituality and society; similarly, the idea of heaven/paradise and the longing evoked by this idea nurtures the Christian spirituality and practices in daily life. Can the Chinese pursuit of a DaTong world walk along with Christian longing for heaven as companions? In the post-colonial world, the passive impacts of colonialism and the precarious international political environment intensify the conflicts between Chinese culture and Christianity, which generate a necessary theological and pastoral need for the answers to this question. As a response to the need, this paper attempts to relocate Christianity through a decolonial comparative reading of the Confucian idea of Da Tong (大同) world and the Christian idea of heaven/paradise. Instead of stressing the differences, this paper focuses on the similarities between those ideas. In addition, Inspired by decolonial theories, the reading of the texts incorporates an analysis of the current reality of the Chinese Christian world and a rereading of history, especially the history of ongoing communication between Christianity and Chinese culture. By carefully reexamining the meaning of Tian (天), Dao/Tao (道), and Li (礼), in “Liyun 礼运,” Liji (Book of Rites, 礼记) the literal context of the DaTong society is unpacked. Reading “Liyun” along with Isaiah 65:17-25, Revelation 21, Matthew 13:24-30, John, Hebrews 11:1-3, and James 2, the idea of DaTong, Dao/Tao, and Li are put in conversation with the idea of Heaven, the Garden of Eden, the Kingdom of God, Logos, and Faith. The reading reveals the role of Da Tong and heaven as gifts of the past and companions to sustain peace and social order in times of crisis. I hope the finding of this paper constructs a common ground for cross-cultural and interfaith dialogue between Christianity and Confucianism in a way that benefits future research on the study of Christianity in China, especially the studies of the sinocization of Christianity.Author's Origina
Rhythms in Motion: A Biofeedback-Driven Vibrotactile Wearable for Gait Entrainment Rooted in Polyrhythmic Analysis of Afro-Diasporic Music
No full textStudies have demonstrated that synchronized auditory and tactile cues can support motor coordination through neural entrainment.[1] Emerging research suggests that rhythm-specific entrainment influences distinct aspects of gait such as stride symmetry, cadence, and joint coordination. [2] This thesis introduces a culturally grounded, rhythm-driven therapeutic device that leverages vibrotactile rhythmic stimulation for gait modulation and neurorehabilitation. While vibrotactile cueing and rhythmic auditory stimulation have been utilized for gait training purposes, these studies rely on binary and ternary rhythmic patterns. [3], [4] There are no studies that make polyrhythmic analysis the basis of the rhythmic framework utilized to deliver these therapeutic modalities.
This thesis makes two key contributions. First, it introduces a novel method for modeling and applying complex polyrhythmic musical structures—drawn from Afro-diasporic music—that diverge from conventional binary and ternary rhythmic patterns typically used in existing interventions. Second, the system integrates real-time gait adaptation through embedded force sensitive resistors, enabling personalized rhythmic synchronization. By integrating polyrhythmic analysis, real-time gait adaptation, CAD-informed wearable design, and multisensory feedback, this work establishes a novel framework for personalized, culturally resonant neurorehabilitation strategies— with potential applications for individuals with neurodegenerative or motor disorders.Biomedical Engineering A
Timed chromatin invasion during mitosis governs prototype foamy virus integration site selection and infectivity
No full textSelection of a suitable chromatin environment during retroviral integration is a tightly
regulated and multilayered process that involves interplay between viral and host factors.
However, whether intrinsic chromatin dynamics during mitosis modulate retroviral
genome invasion is currently poorly described. Direct interaction between the
spumaretrovirus prototype foamy virus (PFV) Gag protein and cellular chromatin has
been described as a major determinant for integration site selection. A previous Gag
chromatin-binding site (CBS)–nucleosome co-crystal structure revealed an interaction
with the histone H2A-H2B acidic patch via a highly conserved arginine anchor residue.
Yet, the molecular mechanisms regulating Gag-chromatin capture during PFV infection
remain obscure. Here, we investigated the kinetics of Gag-chromatin interactions during
mitosis and proviral integration of PFV-infected synchronized cells. Using Gag CBS variant
viruses, we showed that alteration of Gag affinity for nucleosome binding induced
untimely chromatin tethering during mitosis, decreased infectivity and redistributed viral
integration sites to markers associated with late replication timing of host chromosomes.
Mutant Gag proteins were moreover defective in their ability to displace the histone H4
tail from the nucleosome acidic patch of highly condensed mitotic chromatin. These data
indicate that the mitotic chromatin landscape during Gag–nucleosome interactions hosts
PFV integration site selection determinants and that spumaretroviruses evolved high-
affinity chromatin binding to overcome early mitosis chromatin condensation for optimal
viral DNA tethering, integration and infection.Author's Origina
Education and the challenges for democracy
No full textThis introductory essay for the special issue, “Education and the Challenges for Democracy,” proposes challenges to democracy call for a reexamination of the relationship of democracy to democratic education. The essay describes the challenges to democracy, how those challenges impact democratic education and how education can address those challenges, followed by a summary of six peer reviewed papers that examine the relationship of education to democracy in Japan, Singapore, South Africa and the United States. The essay concludes with a discussion of the significance of these papers to understand the dialectical relationship between education and democracy, and their implications for research, policy and practice
Challenging Current Hip Reconstruction Practices in Patients with Cerebral Palsy
No full textIn April 2006, an international working group revised Bax’s widely used modern definition of Cerebral Palsy (CP), characterizing it as: “A group of permanent disorders of the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitation, that are attributed to non-progressive disturbances that occurred in the developing fetal or infant brain. The motor disorders of CP are often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, communication and behavior, by epilepsy, and by secondary musculoskeletal problems”. CP remains the most common cause of chronic childhood disability, with a prevalence of 2-2.5 per 1000 live births in developed countries. This thesis will address two intertwined and critical aspects of CP, aligned with its contemporary holistic definition.
First, due to the non-progressive but permanent nature of the primary brain lesion in CP, many acquired clinical manifestations such as musculoskeletal pathology progress over time in the setting of growth and spasticity. Hip displacement, second only to Achilles contracture in prevalence, effects approximately 35% of all children with CP, and is positively correlated with the severity of functional impairment as defined by the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). This is a five-level ordinal rating scale based on the assessment of self-initiated movement with emphasis on function with regard to sitting and walking. Incidence of hip displacement in non-ambulatory patients (GMFCS IV and V) ranges from 60% up to 90%. The adverse natural history of CP hip displacement necessitates surgery in the majority of children, which aims to obtain a pain-free, mobile, and concentrically reduced hip with symmetric range of motion, prior to the onset of painful arthritis. Hip reconstruction surgery typically involves soft tissue releases, femoral varus derotation osteotomy (VDRO), pelvic osteotomy (PO), or a combination thereof. In the literature, clear surgical indications for performing an additional acetabuloplasty after VDRO are elusive, and in practice the decision remains driven by surgeons’ experience and training. While combining VDRO and PO generally lowers resubluxation rates, some patients can safely undergo VDRO alone, thus avoiding additional surgical risk and morbidity. The first part of this thesis evaluates the effect of intraoperative hip arthrography – successfully used in Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip - as a tool for acetabuloplasty decision-making in neuromuscular hip reconstruction.
Second, the revised CP definition emphasizes a holistic approach; shifting from the historical musculoskeletal focus towards incorporating comorbidities that influence patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Hip reconstruction surgery and spinal fusion aim to alleviate pain, ease caregiving, and improve HRQoL, yet their effect has been debated due to surgical complexity, postoperative risk of morbidity and patient mortality. Today, orthopedic surgeons recognize that HRQoL improvements are more meaningful to patients and caregivers than radiographic outcomes, underscoring the importance of HRQoL outcome measures. The Caregiver Priorities and Child Health Index of Life with Disabilities (CPCHILD) questionnaire, validated for assessing HRQoL and caregiver burden in GMFCS levels IV and V CP patients, is increasingly used to evaluate the impact of hip and spine surgery. However, before becoming a gold standard, effective outcome instruments must also demonstrate responsiveness - the tools’ ability to detect change and remain constant across diverse cohorts. The second part of thesis assesses the responsiveness of the CPCHILD questionnaire in children with severe non-ambulatory CP undergoing hip reconstruction surgery and spinal fusion.Graduate Educatio
Unifying regulatory mechanism of bacterial cell wall synthesis
No full textBacteria are surrounded by a peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall that serves as a protective layer against
environmental insults and guides the processes of cell division and morphogenesis. Peptidoglycan is
produced from the lipid II precursor in two enzymatic steps: glycosyltransferase (GT) enzymes polymerize
lipid II into glycan strands, which are then crosslinked by transpeptidases (TP) to expand the meshwork.
Bacteria rely on two families of essential and ubiquitous PG synthases to accomplish PG synthesis. Class
A penicillin-binding proteins (aPBPs) are bifunctional PG synthases, whereas class B PBPs are
monofunctional transpeptidases that function in tandem with glycosyltransferases from the SEDS family.
While SEDS-bPBPs and aPBPs are enzymatically equivalent, they share little structural homology and
participate in distinct physiological processes in cells – bacterial elongation, division and peptidoglycan
fortification and repair. Genetic studies implicate cellular accessory factors in the spatiotemporal control of
their cognate PG synthases and show that loss of enzymatic coordination underlies the lethal action of
penicillin-type antibiotics. Despite the profound importance of proper PG biogenesis for bacterial
physiology, the molecular details and functional consequences of these regulatory pathways have
remained unclear. Here, we investigate the molecular mechanisms that control cellular activation and
dynamics of two prototypical E. coli SEDS-bPBP and aPBP synthases. Our work shows that these
structurally and functionally divergent families rely on the same global molecular logic of PG synthesis
regulation, whereby accessory factor binding triggers enzymatic activation through structural
rearrangements at the interface between the GT and TP enzymatic domains. The conformational
switches that we uncovered provide promising new avenues for future antibiotic development.Biophysic
