Sarjakuva aktivismin työkaluna : opastava pienlehti aktivistisen sarjakuvajulkaisun luomiseksi

Opinnäytetyön päämääränä oli selvittää kuinka sarjakuva voi toimia aktivismin työkaluna. Opinnäytetyössä tutkailtiin niitä sarjakuvan ominaisuuksia, jotka tekevät siitä hyvän välineen aktivistiseen toimintaan. Lisäksi tutkittiin, mitä sarjakuva-aktivismilla ja aktivistisella sarjakuvalla tarkoitetaan. Hankitun tiedon ja taustoituksen pohjalta produktioksi määräytyi opastava pienlehti, jonka tarkoituksena on antaa mahdollisuus ja väylä matalaresurssiseen vaikuttamiseen sarjakuvan avulla. Opinnäytetyön tutkimusvaiheessa tietoa saatiin haastattelemalla henkilöitä, joilla on merkittävää tietoutta sarjakuvasta ja aktivismista. Tietoa aiheesta kerättiin myös jo olemassa olevista lähteistä. Tärkeiksi lähteiksi osoittautuivat muun muassa ruotsalaisen sarjakuvatutkija Martin Lundin kirjoittama artikkeli Comics Activism, A (partial) introduction sekä Ralf Kaurasen, Olli Löytyn, Aura Nikkilän ja Anna Vuorinteen artikkeli Vuoden 2015 ’’pakolaiskriisi’’ ja sarjakuva-aktivismi Suomessa: Auttamishalu, antirasismi ja turvapaikanhakijoiden äänet. Tutkimusta tehdessä selvisi, että sarjakuvaa voidaan hyödyntää aktivismin työkaluna aktivistisen viestinnän alustana. Sarjakuvalla on saavutettavia ominaisuuksia, jotka voivat edistää aktivistisen viestin välittämistä. Opinnäytetyön johtopäätöksenä pystyi toteamaan, että sarjakuvalla toteutettavalla aktivismille ominaista on, ettei sillä välttämättä saada aikaiseksi rakennetasoista muutosta. Se voi kuitenkin vaikuttaa yksilötasoisesti ja antaa äänen niille, jotka eivät muuten tule kuulluksi.The objective of this thesis was to explore how comics can be used as a tool for activism. The thesis examined the properties of comics which make it particularly suitable for activism. Additionally, the definitions of comic activism and activist comics were explored. The accumulated knowledge resulted to an instructional zine as the final product of the thesis. The purpose of the zine is to instruct the readers in low resource influencing through comics. During the research people with significant knowledge of comics and activism were interviewed. Information was also gathered from existing sources. Some of the most important sources included the articles Comics Activism, A (partial) introduction by Swedish comic researcher Martin Lund and Vuoden 2015 “pakolaiskriisi”ja sarjakuva-aktivismi Suomessa: Auttamishalu, antira¬sismi ja turvapaikanhakijoiden äänet by Ralf Kauranen, Olli Löytty, Aura Nikkilä and Anna Vuorinne. The results indicate that comics can be used as a tool and platform for activist communication. Comics have accessible properties that enable and support the transmission of an activist message. Based on the findings it could be deduced that comic activism might not necessarily bring structural change. However, it can have an effect on an individual level and give a voice to those who would not otherwise be heard

Better early functional outcome after short stem total hip arthroplasty? A prospective blinded randomised controlled multicentre trial comparing the Collum Femoris Preserving stem with a Zweymuller straight cementless stem total hip replacement for the treatment of primary osteoarthritis of the hip

Objectives Primary aim was to compare the functional results at 3 months and 2 years between short and conventional cementless stem total hip arthroplasty (THA). Secondary aim was to determine the feasibility of a double-blind implant-related trial. Design A prospective blinded randomised controlled multicentre trial in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip. All patients, research assistants, clinical assessors, investigators and data analysts were blinded to the type of prosthesis. Population: 150 patients between 18 and 70 years with osteoarthritis of the hip, 75 in the short stem and 75 in the conventional stem group. Mean age: 60 years (SD 7). Interventions: The Collum Femoris Preserving short stem versus the Zweymuller Alloclassic conventional stem. Main outcome measures The Dutch version of the Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS). Secondary outcomes measures: Harris Hip Score, the Physical Component Scale of the SF12, the Timed Up and Go test, Pain and the EQ-5D. Feasibility outcomes: continued blinding, protocol adherence and follow-up success rate. Results No significant difference between the two groups. Mean HOOS total score in the short stem group increased 32.7 points from 36.6 (95% CI 32.9 to 40.2) preoperatively to 69.3 (95% CI 66.4 to 72.1) at 3 months follow-up. Mean HOOS total score in the conventional straight stem group increased 36.3 points from 37.1 (95% CI 33.9 to 40.3) preoperatively to 73.4 (95% CI 70.3 to 76.4) at 3 months follow-up. 91.2% of patients remained blinded at 2 years follow-up. Both protocol adherence and follow-up success rate were 98%. Conclusions Functional result at 3 months and 2 years after short stem THA is not superior to conventional cementless THA. There were more perioperative and postoperative complications in the short stem group. Direct comparison of two hip implants in a double-blinded randomised controlled trial is feasible. Trial registration number NTR1560

Management Structure that Supports and Facilitates Social Good: Phase II for Paths of Hope, Inc.

In fall 2012, Molloy College embarked on an educational experiment that has now been fully integrated into the curriculum of the business programs. Over these past five years, a pedagogical philosophy has developed; students learn by doing and the evidence of learning must be demonstrated. Accreditors demand that program level outcomes reflect evidence of learning. There is no better evidence than the students’ self-report and demonstration in the real world that the knowledge and the skills acquired within the learning environment can be applied. The documentation has been published in a series of conference papers coupled with student presentations at the annual meetings of the Northeast Business and Economics Association. The mission of Molloy College articulates the call to action related to social responsibility, service, community, and study. Molloy’s commitment to academic excellence and the promotion of lifelong learning demonstrates the transformative education experienced by the students (source: Molloy Mission Statement). Therefore, the evidence of learning for the Molloy graduate program is a set of business solutions that will support social good. This paper reports on the phase II consulting work conducted for Paths of Hope, Inc. The phase II student consultants built upon the successful work on the phase I team. The details of phase I were presented at the 2017 NBEA Conference (Rodriguez, Riegel, and Mackenzie, 2017). The phase I team was faced with a significant problem, which was solved with the legal solution and the creation of a not-for-profit corporation. The phase II team’s collaboration with the newly formed corporation is focused on the development of management practices that would allow this new corporation, to survive

Subcellular optogenetic inhibition of G proteins generates signaling gradients and cell migration

Cells sense gradients of extracellular cues and generate polarized responses such as cell migration and neurite initiation. There is static information on the intracellular signaling molecules involved in these responses, but how they dynamically orchestrate polarized cell behaviors is not well understood. A limitation has been the lack of methods to exert spatial and temporal control over specific signaling molecules inside a living cell. Here we introduce optogenetic tools that act downstream of native G protein–coupled receptor (GPCRs) and provide direct control over the activity of endogenous heterotrimeric G protein subunits. Light-triggered recruitment of a truncated regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) protein or a Gβγ-sequestering domain to a selected region on the plasma membrane results in localized inhibition of G protein signaling. In immune cells exposed to spatially uniform chemoattractants, these optogenetic tools allow us to create reversible gradients of signaling activity. Migratory responses generated by this approach show that a gradient of active G protein αi and βγ subunits is sufficient to generate directed cell migration. They also provide the most direct evidence so for a global inhibition pathway triggered by Gi signaling in directional sensing and adaptation. These optogenetic tools can be applied to interrogate the mechanistic basis of other GPCR-modulated cellular functions

Ixodes ricinus spirochete and European erythema chronicum migrans disease.

From three endemic locations of erythema chronicum migrans disease in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, we recovered 19 isolates of a spirochete from Ixodes ricinus ticks. The infection rate in adult ticks was 16 percent. The isolated spirochete is immunologically related to the Ixodes dammini spirochete, Borrelia duttoni, and Treponema pallidum. Using indirect immunofluorescence, the sera of 90 patients with erythema chronicum migrans disease showed antibody titers against the isolated spirochete, which correlated with the clinical course. Similarly, antibodies were demonstrated in the sera of 21 patients with acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans. These results suggest an etiologic role for the Ixodes ricinus spriochete in European erythema chronicum migrans disease