3 research outputs found
[Children playing baseball]
No full textTitle devised by Library staff.Date from negatives in same range.Gift; Herbert A. French; 1947
Humor, laughter and mental health: a case study of Mary Kay Morrison
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to meet Mary Kay Morrison, an active member and past president of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH). Design/methodology/approach: This case study is presented in two sections: an autobiography of Mary Kay Morrison, followed by a ten-question interview. Findings: Mary Kay recommends exploration of the benefits of humor and laughter for mental health professionals. In recognition of the need for clarifying terminology, she coined the terms Humergy, which is joyful, optimistic, healthy energy and Humordoomer, which denotes a person who zaps that energy from us. Her work includes exploring the five stages of Humor Development as a significant factor in understanding cognitive development. Research limitations/implications: This is a personal narrative, albeit from an educator who has been active in the field of applied and therapeutic humor for over 30 years. Practical implications: Humor and laughter research is recommended to explore their use in optimizing mental health. Mary Kay endorses expanding pioneering work in therapeutic humor as a treatment for anxiety and depression. She shares recommendations for humor practice in both prevention of mental health challenges and as a viable treatment for anxiety and depression. Social implications: Three humor benefits with particular social applications are highlighted. Humor facilitates communication, creates an optimal learning environment and supports change. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first case study about Mary Kay Morrison, Past President of the AATH and founder of the AATH Certified Humor Professional program.</p
Seed remains of common millet from the 4th (Mongolia) and 15th (Hungary) centuries: AFLP, SSR and mtDNA sequence recoveries.
No full textSeed remains of common millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) were excavated from sites of ad 4th-century Darhan (Mongolia), and ad 15th-century Budapest (Hungary). Because the 15th-century medieval grains looked so intact, a germination test was carried out under aseptic conditions, which resulted in swelling of the grains but no cell proliferation or germination. Ancient DNA (aDNA) was extracted from the aseptic grains; analysed for amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP), simple sequence repeats (SSR) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA); and compared with the modern millet cultivar 'Topaz'. AFLP analysis revealed that extensive DNA degradation had occurred in the 4th-century ancient millet, resulting in only 2 (1.2%) AFLP fragments (98.8% degradation) amplified by MseCAA-EcoAGT, compared to the 15th-century medieval millet, with 158 (40%) fragments (60% degradation), and modern millet cultivar 'Topaz' with 264 fragments (100%). EcoAGT-MseCAA was found to be the most effective selective-primer combination for the analysis of medieval and modern millet. Eight AFLP fragments were sequenced after re-amplification and cloning. Microsatellite (SSR) analysis at the nuclear gln4, sh1, rps28 and rps15 loci revealed one SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) at the 29th position (A -> G) of rps28 locus, compared to modern millet. An mtDNA fragment (MboI), amplified at the 18S-5S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) locus in the medieval millet, showed no molecular changes compared to modern millet. The results underline the significance of aDNA extraction and analysis of excavated seeds for comparative analysis and molecular reconstruction of ancient and extinct plant genotypes
