Acclimation

In fragmenting the human figure, I hope to express loss of control or the inability to know one’s future. On a daily basis, I am bombarded with this anxiety-ridden dilemma. In my work, this struggle manifests itself in the figures’ expressions and poses. The seamless integration of figures into the background can be seen as their successful ability to merge with their changing environment; in other words, a positive adaptation of self. At other times, the figure-background dichotomy represents the struggle to adapt to change and maintain a constantly evolving, healthy self. In some works, the figures are rooted in their environments, and in others they are more detached. The loss of the figure’s foundation represents his or her inability to adapt to a given situation. Some figures reach out blindly with closed eyes; others are upside-down, lost in vertigo. The different situations the figures are placed in abstractly represent their issues: the cards they are given and how they choose to play them. The paintings shown here are executed on Homasote board rather than traditional canvas. The board supports mark-making techniques such as scraping, incising and stabbing which the canvas cannot; the surface records my approach to painting, by turns aggressive and delicate. I use rigid fragmentation of space and perspective as well as inverted figures to express the internal conflict that arises from making everyday decisions. This conflict, an argument with oneself, is represented through the multiple depictions of a single individual. There is a sense of irony to my work. Even as the figures strive for answers, I believe people try too hard to seek them. I think it is more important to focus on questions and to wrestle with them. This is analogous to the process of making a painting; I want my work to contain a spirit of questioning as well as the struggle to find answers

Distribution and Management of Phytophthora Species on Lavender in the United States

Phytophthora root and crown rot (PRCR) is currently the most important disease on lavender (Lavandula spp.) in the United States. The disease was first described on English lavender (L. angustifolia) in a Maryland nursery in 1991, with Phytophthora nicotianae as the causal agent. Since that time, the disease has been reported on multiple continents and as caused by several species of Phytophthora. This study examined the distribution and pathogenicity of Phytophthora species on lavender in the United States, requested lavender grower feedback regarding their production and concerns, and examined efficacy of selected management options. Lavender is grown in all regions of the United States, with L. angustifolia and L. ×intermedia as the most common species planted. In collaboration with the U. S. Lavender Growers Association, samples of diseased lavender plants were collected from growers across the country over a 5-year period, 2015-2019. PRCR was found to be caused primarily by P. nicotianae, which was found in each of the 24 states from which PRCR positive samples were obtained, making it also the most widespread of the causal agents. Phytophthora palmivora and P. citrophthora were the next most abundant species found associated with symptomatic lavender; P. cinnamomi, P. tropicalis, P. cryptogea, P. sansomeana, P. cactorum, P. drechsleri, and P. megasperma were recovered from plant samples infrequently. Using Koch’s postulates, P. nicotianae, P. palmivora, and P. cinnamomi were documented for the first time as pathogenic on L. ×intermedia; P. cryptogea and P. drechsleri as pathogenic on L. angustifolia; P. nicotianae as pathogenic on L. heterophylla; and P. tropicalis as potentially pathogenic on L. ×intermedia. Additionally, first reports of pathogenicity of P. palmivora and P. citrophthora on L. angustifolia in the United States were documented. Some fungicides that target oomycete plant pathogens were shown to effectively manage P. nicotianae on L. angustifolia under greenhouse conditions. The phosphonate products, containing the active ingredients mono- and di-potassium salts of phosphorous acid or aluminum tris (O-ethyl phosphonate), provided the best protection in repeated trials based on several disease parameters. Attempts to remediate infested field soil using a quaternary ammonia product had some success but did not eradicate the pathogen. This study serves as a foundation for future research on Phytophthora root and crown rot of lavender, the most significant disease affecting this increasingly important specialty crop, in the United States

L ennox‐ G astaut syndrome of unknown cause: Phenotypic characteristics of patients in the E pilepsy P henome/ G enome P roject

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/101778/1/epi12395.pd

2014 Epilepsy Benchmarks Area III: Improve Treatment Options for Controlling Seizures and Epilepsy-Related Conditions Without Side Effects

The Epilepsy Benchmark goals in Area III focus on making progress in understanding and controlling seizures and related conditions as well as on developing biomarkers and new therapies that will reduce seizures and improve outcomes for individuals with epilepsy. Area III emphasizes a need to better understand the ways in which seizures start, propagate, and terminate and whether those network processes are common or unique in different forms of epilepsy. The application of that knowledge to improved seizure prediction and detection will also play a role in improving patient outcomes. Animal models of treatment-resistant epilepsy that are aligned with etiologies and clinical features of human epilepsies are especially encouraged as necessary tools to understand mechanisms and test potential therapies. Antiseizure therapies that target (either alone or in combination) novel or multiple seizure mechanisms are prioritized in this section of the Benchmarks. Area III goals also highlight validation of biomarkers of treatment response and safety risk, effective self-management, and patient-centered outcome measures as important areas of emphasis for the next five to ten years

Reintroducing Invention to Innovation: Investigating the White Space in Marketing Innovation

This project investigates the relationship between rhetorical theory and marketing innovation as practiced in the consumer packaged goods industry. Marketing innovation, or the development of new products, product features (including packaging and messaging), and services, is a process-heavy practice often resulting in incremental or novelty innovations that do not drive long-term marketplace success for consumer packaged goods companies. The history of innovation in consumer packaged goods companies is generally rooted in new-to-world innovations that meet a defined consumer audience\u27s need or fill a gap in the marketplace. Over the past seven decades, this included developing packaged products that helped people live their everyday lives a bit more easily, like packaged food products. From post-World War II through the late 1980\u27s, consumer packaged goods companies, through their marketing innovation efforts, launched thousands of innovations, flooding the marketplace with new products, both new-to-world products and incremental innovations. Beginning in the mid 2000\u27s, the consumer packaged goods industry began to experience significant sales declines that continue today, forcing industry consolidation and a renewed charge for true innovation in the industry. The primary question driving this project is, can rhetorical theory provide ground for an alternative approach to marketing innovation, favoring true innovation over novelty? In investigating the consumer packaged goods innovation process, it was discovered that the practice of marketing innovation often emphasizes process over content. Working with the concepts of rhetorical invention as designed by Cicero and Aristotle, it is proposed that key principles within invention may offer a starting point for refocusing the innovation process toward content and away from process. This study will explore the background of the consumer packaged goods industry and its roots in the American economy and within the communities in which its companies operate. It will review the standard consumer packaged goods innovation process, followed by an exploration of Cicero and Aristotle\u27s concepts of rhetorical invention. It will then offer support via prominent marketplace literature and real world case studies that demonstrate the potential for invention as a grounding principle for the innovation process

DNM1 encephalopathy: A new disease of vesicle fission.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the phenotypic spectrum caused by mutations in dynamin 1 (DNM1), encoding the presynaptic protein DNM1, and to investigate possible genotype-phenotype correlations and predicted functional consequences based on structural modeling.MethodsWe reviewed phenotypic data of 21 patients (7 previously published) with DNM1 mutations. We compared mutation data to known functional data and undertook biomolecular modeling to assess the effect of the mutations on protein function.ResultsWe identified 19 patients with de novo mutations in DNM1 and a sibling pair who had an inherited mutation from a mosaic parent. Seven patients (33.3%) carried the recurrent p.Arg237Trp mutation. A common phenotype emerged that included severe to profound intellectual disability and muscular hypotonia in all patients and an epilepsy characterized by infantile spasms in 16 of 21 patients, frequently evolving into Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Two patients had profound global developmental delay without seizures. In addition, we describe a single patient with normal development before the onset of a catastrophic epilepsy, consistent with febrile infection-related epilepsy syndrome at 4 years. All mutations cluster within the GTPase or middle domains, and structural modeling and existing functional data suggest a dominant-negative effect on DMN1 function.ConclusionsThe phenotypic spectrum of DNM1-related encephalopathy is relatively homogeneous, in contrast to many other genetic epilepsies. Up to one-third of patients carry the recurrent p.Arg237Trp variant, which is now one of the most common recurrent variants in epileptic encephalopathies identified to date. Given the predicted dominant-negative mechanism of this mutation, this variant presents a prime target for therapeutic intervention

Modeling neurocognitive and neurobiological recovery in addiction

This book focuses on "what to know" and "how to apply" information, prioritizing novel principles and delineating cutting-edge assessment, phenotyping and treatment tools