THE EFFECTS OF INJURY AND DISPLACEMENT ON TYPHOON YOLANDA SURVIVORS

This study was conducted with a group Filipino survivors of Typhoon Yolanda. It examines the effects of being injured or displaced as a result of the natural disaster on the effectiveness of a pilot project addressing depression, anxiety and hope. Eight adults (N = 8) completed a series of five workshops along with a pre and post questionnaire. Those that were displaced, exhibited a reduction in depression (24%), a reduction in anxiety (12.8%), and an increase in hope (14.78%) after completing the workshops. Furthermore, the individuals that were injured experienced a reduction in anxiety (22.7%), an increase in depression (28.48%), and an increase in hope (14.86%)

Characterization of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Musculoskeletal Injury

The main goal of regenerative medicine is to enhance the innate healing response to more closely mimic tissue development. This may include cell-based, trophic, or small molecule therapies. In cell-based therapies, the initial premise was one of tissue replacement. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are adult-derived stem cells present throughout the body and easily harvested from individual patients. After over a decade of veterinary and human medical use of MSCs and medical research, the function of MSCs after therapeutic use in injury remains unclear. Elucidating engraftment location and longevity of MSCs post injection may provide insight to their mechanism of action. We developed a protocol for labeling MSCs with a fluorocarbon nanoparticle that allows for non-invasive longitudinal tracking and evaluated cellular viability, proliferation, and morphology. A dose dependent cell association of the nanoparticle was seen in our study but it was not repeatable between individuals. Prior to use of this technique to track MSCs, further study is needed to elucidate where the failure occurred: uptake of label by MSCs, maintenance of label within the cell cytoplasm or loss of conjugation of the fluorophore. Despite the use of MSCs as a therapeutic in horses for many years, there is little information on the best techniques for cryopreserving these cells for immediate use post thaw. We tested several freezing mediums for the short-term cryopreservation of equine MSCs. We found that 95% autologous serum and 5% DMSO did not negatively affect post thaw viability, growth kinetics, or morphology. Bisphosphonates were approved for use in horses in the United States in 2014. Since, they have become wildly popular due to improvements in lameness in treated horses. We suspected that the efficacy in lameness reduction could be due to an off target effect such as an effect on the MSC because the approved dose is so low compared to the anti- resorptive dose of the same drugs in people. We investigated the impact of bisphosphonates on bone remodeling and bone cells including MSCs. We observed reduction in lameness but no changes in bone turnover or MSC characteristics

Characterization of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Musculoskeletal Injury

The main goal of regenerative medicine is to enhance the innate healing response to more closely mimic tissue development. This may include cell-based, trophic, or small molecule therapies. In cell-based therapies, the initial premise was one of tissue replacement. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are adult-derived stem cells present throughout the body and easily harvested from individual patients. After over a decade of veterinary and human medical use of MSCs and medical research, the function of MSCs after therapeutic use in injury remains unclear. Elucidating engraftment location and longevity of MSCs post injection may provide insight to their mechanism of action. We developed a protocol for labeling MSCs with a fluorocarbon nanoparticle that allows for non-invasive longitudinal tracking and evaluated cellular viability, proliferation, and morphology. A dose dependent cell association of the nanoparticle was seen in our study but it was not repeatable between individuals. Prior to use of this technique to track MSCs, further study is needed to elucidate where the failure occurred: uptake of label by MSCs, maintenance of label within the cell cytoplasm or loss of conjugation of the fluorophore. Despite the use of MSCs as a therapeutic in horses for many years, there is little information on the best techniques for cryopreserving these cells for immediate use post thaw. We tested several freezing mediums for the short-term cryopreservation of equine MSCs. We found that 95% autologous serum and 5% DMSO did not negatively affect post thaw viability, growth kinetics, or morphology. Bisphosphonates were approved for use in horses in the United States in 2014. Since, they have become wildly popular due to improvements in lameness in treated horses. We suspected that the efficacy in lameness reduction could be due to an off target effect such as an effect on the MSC because the approved dose is so low compared to the anti- resorptive dose of the same drugs in people. We investigated the impact of bisphosphonates on bone remodeling and bone cells including MSCs. We observed reduction in lameness but no changes in bone turnover or MSC characteristics

Evidence for human norovirus infection of dogs in the United kingdom.

Human noroviruses (HuNoVs) are a major cause of viral gastroenteritis, with an estimated 3 million cases per year in the United Kingdom. HuNoVs have recently been isolated from pet dogs in Europe (M. Summa, C.-H. von Bonsdorff, and L. Maunula, J Clin Virol 53:244-247, 2012, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2011.12.014), raising concerns about potential zoonotic infections. With 31% of United Kingdom households owning a dog, this could prove to be an important transmission route. To examine this risk, canine tissues were studied for their ability to bind to HuNoV in vitro. In addition, canine stool samples were analyzed for the presence of viral nucleic acid, and canine serum samples were tested for the presence of anti-HuNoV antibodies. The results showed that seven different genotypes of HuNoV virus-like particles (VLPs) can bind to canine gastrointestinal tissue, suggesting that infection is at least theoretically possible. Although HuNoV RNA was not identified in stool samples from 248 dogs, serological evidence of previous exposure to HuNoV was obtained in 43/325 canine serum samples. Remarkably, canine seroprevalence for different HuNoV genotypes mirrored the seroprevalence in the human population. Though entry and replication within cells have not been demonstrated, the canine serological data indicate that dogs produce an immune response to HuNoV, implying productive infection. In conclusion, this study reveals zoonotic implications for HuNoV, and to elucidate the significance of this finding, further epidemiological and molecular investigations will be essential.This collaborative project was facilitated by the Society of Microbiology's President's Fund awarded to S.L.C. and by the Region des Pays de la Loire ARMINA project. This work was supported by a Ph.D. studentship from the Medical Research Council to S.L.C. and a Wellcome Trust Senior Fellowship to I.G. (WT097997MA). I.G. is a Wellcome Senior Fellow.This is the final published version of the article. It was originally published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology (Caddy S, et al., Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2015, 53, 1873-1883, doi:10.1128/JCM.02778-14). The final version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JCM.02778-1

Disciplinary knowledge for what ends? The values dimension of curriculum research in the Anthropocene

This article makes the case for repositioning values and ethics as central to understanding how curriculum knowledge can be educationally powerful. Disciplinary knowledge can help individuals make sense of the present, explore alternative futures and participate in society, making ethical choices about how to live. This, however, depends on particular relationships between curriculum, disciplinary knowledge, values and ethical perspectives. We argue that the recent research agenda exploring disciplinary knowledge underplays the values dimension in how curriculum knowledge is constructed and used. First, we give an overview of the recent thrust of curriculum debates in subject education communities, placing this in some historical context. Here, we recognise the need to make a robust case for school subjects and their important relationship with disciplines. We go on to examine some arguments around the role of knowledge in curriculum. Taking the concept of the Anthropocene (the human epoch of the planet) and from our perspectives as geography and religious education educators, we propose a focus on ethical disposition and interdisciplinarity to make the values dimensions of curriculum knowledge more visible

Where the Trees Stood in Water

oai:currents.journals.yorku.ca:article/37295Where the Trees Stood in Water is a series of Cyanotype prints tracing the historic and contemporary transformations of Toronto’s Entertainment District. Each print is accompanied by an archival document which forms a narrative connecting geography to stories of colonization, industrialization and the transient bodies of those affected by the remaking of Toronto’s landscape. Juxtaposing text and image, Where the Trees… pushes against the archival documentation of Toronto’s past and challenges the stories told about colonialism, labour and migration. With playful reproductions, Bambitchell invites hidden, obscured, lost, and silenced narratives of colonial history to surface and tell new stories about the geography of Toronto’s core