Welcome to #ThisIsWesternU, the official Tumblr of Western University. Here, we’ll be featuring stories from all our Western communities, including you! You can submit stories and images to our submissions page here, or send your questions to our askbox.
Everything you need to know about studying at #WesternU (and a few extras too): http://news.westernu.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/back_issues/2017/08/WN_Aug_24-web.pdf #backtoschool #offtowesternu
Congratulations to the Class of 2017! Thousands of new graduates return to campus to make if official at Western's 309th Convocation. You did it, Mustangs!
Watch live at http://communications.uwo.ca/comms/video_broadcast.html, live tweets by @westernuLIVE & #purpleandproud
This beautiful building is the perfect combination of old and new. Open glass ceilings and exposed brick from the original structure will keep your mind open and comfortable. If you love working in a cool, open space, this spot is for you!
What we love: unique architecture, close to central campus, tons of comfy spots to sit and work
2. Allyn and Betty Taylor Library
Weldon’s not the only great library on campus! This hidden gem behind Natural Science has eight (yes, eight!) total floors of possible study spaces, ranging from private rooms to silent spaces, and everything in between.
What we love: full cafeteria on main floor, complete with microwaves, snacks and coffee; perfect for large study groups; easy access to central campus and bus routes
3. Thompson Recreation and Athletic Centre
Okay, this may seem like a strange one, but there’s something about the energy in this building that just keeps the mind active! Accompany that with the fully open concept of the main floor, fantastic views of campus, and Booster Juice, and we think this spot makes a great study choice (even if you’re not planning a workout afterwards).
What we love: breathable open space, lots of windows for natural light, Booster Juice for healthy snacks and smoothies
4. North Campus Building
This is the perfect spot for those of us who like a bit of distance from the hustle and bustle of central campus, but still like an active space. Grab a double-double from Tim’s and get cozy in one of the corner spots overlooking the Thames, and this spot is just as comfortable for the mind as the silent floor on Weldon.
What we love: Tim Horton’s (duh), tons of natural light, semi-private booths and lots of table space
5. Cardinal Carter Library (King’s University College)
Take a short trip on the King’s Shuttle Bus off campus to this small but cozy library in the heart of King’s University College. With an open main floor and silent upstairs, this spot has something for everyone. Our tip: check it out around the holidays and actually enjoy studying for finals in the Darryl King Student Life Centre with its cozy fireplaces and holiday decorations!
What we love: Tim Horton’s (again, obviously), big tables for large groups, natural light, lots of food and snacking options steps away on King’s campus
Photos courtesy of: kings.uwo.ca
Where are your favourite study spots at WesternU? Snap a photo of it and submit them here telling us why you love them for a chance to be featured on our Tumblr!
Tried and Trusted Study Snacks (as chosen by real Western University students)
The Humble Cheese and Crackers (suggested by Grace Evers, 1st Year MA Public History)
ThisIsWesternU Tip: add some fruit or veggies on the side of this classic snack for extra freshness and a kick of sugar!
Carrots and Hummus (suggested by Hannah Theodore, 4th Year BA Major MIT)
ThisIsWesternU Tip: This one isn’t just limited to carrots! Try peppers, raw broccoli or even crackers!
Dried Mango (suggested by Amy Dickson, 4th Year Honours Spec BA Kinesiology)
ThisIsWesternU Tip: This snack offers a natural sugar kick that will focus your mind much more than candy--and it’s just as sweet! Try dried apples, dates, or dried apricots for some other tasty options.
Apples and Nut Butter (suggested by Katie Bradley, 4th Year Honours Spec BA Kinesiology)
ThisIsWesternU Tip: If regular old peanut butter is getting boring, try dipping your fruit in almond butter, cashew butter, or even hazelnut butter.
Roasted, Spiced Chick Peas (suggested by Erin Andrews, 4th year Major Actuarial Science BSc)
ThisIsWesternU Tip: Skin your chick peas before you do anything else! Yes, it’s a tedious process, but your tummy will thank you for it. Use spices like cayenne pepper, turmeric, and salt and pepper for a tasty savoury, protein-packed snack.
Apples Sauteed in Coconut Oil and Cinnamon (suggested by Rachel Kelly, 2nd Year Ivey HBA)
ThisIsWesternU Tip: If you only have one kind of oil in your house--we recommend it be coconut oil. Amazing for high heat cooking ideas like this, it can also be used for countless beauty and health purposes. For this snack, try adding other warming spices like nutmeg and ginger (it’s like a healthy apple pie!)
Cinnamon and Brown Sugar on Toast (suggested by Erica Wallis, 4th Year Honours Spec MPI)
ThisIsWesternU Tip: Also known as “comfort toast”, this snack is a sweet treat that works great as a snack or an easy dessert. Try it with whole wheat bread and for an unrefined sugar alternative, try coconut sugar or Stevia!
A brand new type of HIV vaccine will move onto phase II clinical trials in 2017, after phase I trials showed that it was safe to use in humans.
The potential new vaccine will be tested on 600 people in North America, to see how well it can prevent them from getting the virus.
Before we get too excited, the phase I trials were only set up to show that the vaccine was tolerated well by the human body - they didn’t demonstrate if it actually works as a preventative treatment.
But the team saw promising results, with the vaccine triggering an immune response in the HIV-positive patients it was tested on.
“We were very excited with the phase I results,” said team leader Chil-Yong Kang, from Western University in Canada.
“The trial demonstrated that our vaccine stimulates broadly neutralising antibodies that will neutralise not only single sub-types of HIV, but other sub-types, which means that you can have the vaccine cover many different strains of the virus.”
The results of that trial have been published this week in the journal Retrovirology, and the researchers have announced that they’ve received regulatory approval to take the vaccine development to the next level as early as September next year.
Gender neutral language - it’s here, it’s important, and it has tremendous effects on the lived experiences of transgender and queer folks who use it. My research focuses on the need for neutral language to express non-binary gender identities, the struggle surrounding how we represent ourselves in language in the fight against oppression, and how this process varies based on the linguistic and grammatical systems in English, French, German, and Swedish. The time has come for us to unlearn our gendered vocabularies and buck the linguistic binary
Levi Hord is a third-year Sexuality Studies, SASAH, and Scholar’s Electives student with a special interest in and passion for furthering transgender academia and theory. In the past year, Levi has undertaken extensive research on the use of gender-neutral language in transgender communities, and how linguistic identity expression varies based on grammatical gender systems. This project is part of a larger mission to raise awareness, and to enhance research into the subject of transgender identities and how they are embodied and experienced in today’s society. Once Levi has completed an undergraduate degree at Western, they want to apply to graduate school and specialize in Transgender Studies, with the hope of playing an integral part in breaking through the social and intellectual barriers that remain for those who subvert the binary gender system.
I’m an optimist and believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The light is education; the light is you. Your education not only gives you a shield against the dystopian post-factual world, but it provides you with a sword with which to combat it. Education is power. You have that power
Sabine Nölke, 2016 Western University Convocation Address
The buildings in my university’s campus are so gorgeous and old, even though I’m heading into my third year I still find myself marveling at them and looking like a goofy freshman but I don’t even care because I love my campus!
Western University graduate student Colin Venner explains why it is 'survival of the wimpiest' when it comes to understanding the spread of HIV/AIDS around the world. Read the complete story here
Hang in there during this midterm season, Mustangs! Take care of yourselves and remember Western has exceptional services available for handling stress and mental wellness.
Hormone may be key to relief for patients, caregivers
Through the worry, Linda Jacobs welcomed the sense of relief she felt when doctors diagnosed her husband, Ray, with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). She finally had an answer for many of the questions she had regarding Ray’s ongoing behaviour.
“The two qualities they say you need as a caregiver in dealing with someone with FTD are thick skin and a good sense of humour. I believe it – I’m just not entirely sure I always have them,” Jacobs said. “Some days I have them; others I don’t have enough to get through the day. (Ray) has a lot of frustration and I can’t help him with that as much as I’d care to. All I can do is really love him and be there for him. At the end of each day, his biggest concern is asking me, ‘We’re still okay, right?’”
Patients with FTD develop deficits in fundamental components of social and emotional behaviour, including emotional blunting, apathy, inappropriate language and a loss of empathy for even their closest family members. The disease can go undiagnosed initially because of the subtle changes it brings to personality, decision-making and judgement.
Like most, Jacobs was unfamiliar with FTD and its symptoms. Looking back, she said there were clues she didn’t pick up early on.
“It was like his personality was changing and he was trying to drive me crazy – and he was doing a great job. I was feeling like I was going to lose it,” said Jacobs, who was also a caregiver to her father, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, as well as her mother as she got old. “What makes it different and more challenging from other conditions is the lack of insight they have. As my mom got older she had heart disease and arthritis, but I could reason with her. With FTD, Ray had no insight whatsoever.”
While there is no cure for FTD, one Western researcher is looking to mitigate symptoms of the disease for patients like Ray and, in turn, lessen the heavy burden faced by caregivers like Linda.
Clinical Neurological Sciences professor Elizabeth Finger is studying the treatment possibilities of oxytocin, a hormone and neuropeptide in the brain that plays an important role in social behaviour and empathy.
The second most common dementia behind Alzheimer’s, FTD boasts different symptoms. The disease affects personality rather than memory and presents itself in patients in their 50s or 60s, at least a decade earlier than most Alzheimer’s patients.
“They can have perfectly normal functioning skills but start to be disinhibited and make comments that are rude, inappropriate, racist or sexist, which can come on gradually,” said Finger, a Parkwood Institute neurologist and Lawson Health Research Institute scientist. “They can even lose empathy for other people, even their own children and spouse. As the disease progresses, it becomes more and more prevalent and frequent.”
The average frontotemporal dementia patient goes about five years with symptoms before diagnosis because the disease can overlap with others issues, including depression. If there is no family history of FTD, it can be hard to diagnose early.
“It doesn’t impact treatment. There currently aren’t treatments to slow the disease or stop it,” she said. “There are treatments in clinical trials at the moment looking to slow or prevent the disease, so soon that diagnostic uncertainly is going to be problematic.”
Finger, recently received a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) 2016 Project Grant to look at the use of intranasal oxytocin as as a treatment for these deficits of social apathy, empathy and related social behaviours in FTD patients. The funding is worth $1.4 million over four years. Finger is the lead investigator of the 15-site study, which includes five locations in Canada and 10 in the United States. Her work is also supported by a separate grant from the Canada-based Weston Brain Foundation (Weston Brain Institute).
The body normally produces oxytocin but doesn’t reach its intended target in FTD patients, said Finger. So its transmission is inefficient. By increasing the levels oxytocin in the patient’s body, in a sense flooding the area, Finger hopes to increase its effectiveness.
Earlier studies found caregivers rated the behaviours of their patients better on the day of a dosage, as well as the patient’s ability to recognize facial expressions.
If proven effective, oxytocin would be the first symptomatic treatment for patients.
“They (patients) often have no idea of the changes (after treatment) since they don’t have insight into the problem,” Finger said. “If you ask them how their social skills are, they think they’re great. From a caregiver perspective, even a small difference would be great.”
In the study, Finger wants to see how much improved the patient’s empathy and social interactions are, as well as also look at caregiver distress and how it has improved.
Jacobs, who had been married to Ray for 44 years, said her husband realizes he is unable to do things like before. They don’t go out in public much anymore; she is anxious about having the grandchildren over in fear of what inappropriate things her husband might say.
“I think he feels vulnerable. What an awful way for a man of 67 to feel – not being able to work or drive. He was an accountant and now his wife is giving him an allowance every day. Why would he be happy with that?” she said. “His emotions are so unpredictable. When I get home from work, I never quite know what I’m going to walk into.”
Jacobs hopes she will be able to participate in Finger’s ongoing study, if not to help her husband, but to help other families whose loved ones have yet to be diagnosed.
“We all know it’s a downward journey we’re on. But if you can get days where life can be a little more comfortable for him and for us, that would be wonderful,” Jacobs said. “If there can be anything positive that comes out of this difficult journey that can benefit someone else in the long term, be it medication or treatment that will make their quality of life better, it helps me feel there is value in what we’re going through.”
Article by: Paul Mayne
This article was originally posted via Western News
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