Spectrum Volume 3 (1) Fall 2012

SPECTRUM Journal of Student Research at Saint Francis University

Volume 3 (1) Fall 2012

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

2

SPECTRUM: Journal of Student Research at Saint Francis University Faculty Editors: Balazs Hargittai Professor of Chemistry bhargittai@francis.edu

Grant Julin Assistant Professor of Philosophy gjulin@francis.edu

Student Editorial Board: Shannon Adams Allison Bivens ’12 Shannon Coughlan Daniel Hines Lindsay Jerin ‘11 Paul Johns ’07 Cecelia MacDonald Sarah McDonald Steven Mosey Rebecca Peer Jennifer Sabol ’11

Cover photo by Balazs Hargittai

Jenna Bailey Seth Burkert ‘12 Kaitlin Hensal ‘11 Eric Horell Amanda Johnson Timothy Keith Lauren McConnell ‘12 Jonathan Miller ’08 Aaron Osysko ’10 Aaron Rovan ‘09 Colleen Stock ‘12

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

3

SPECTRUM Table of Contents Acceptance and Use of Exercise among Physicians and Physician Assistants as a Treatment Option for Depression.

Chelsea N. Weimert; Jill M. Cavalet

4

Surface pKa and Cytochrome c: How the surface pKa of a Self-Assembled Monolayer affects the Formal Reduction Potential and the Electron Transfer Rate of Adsorbed Cytochrome c.

Agnieszka N. Marciniak; Laura E. Ritchey; Rose A. Clark

12

The Complex Cat and Society’s Signifiers in “Sam the Cat.” Eric S. Horell; Robin L. Cadwallader

18

Contents of SPECTRUM Volumes 1 and 2

23

Call for papers

24

(Student authors’ names underlined.)

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

4

Acceptance and Use of Exercise among Physicians and Physician Assistants as a Treatment Option for Depression Chelsea N. Weimert Department of Physician Assistant Sciences School of Health Sciences cnwst5@francis.edu

Jill M. Cavalet Department of Physician Assistant Sciences School of Health Sciences jcavalet@francis.edu

This paper explores the option of using exercise as a treatment for depression. After an in-depth exploration of previous research supporting the use of exercise as a treatment for depression, a study was completed to determine the use of exercise by primary care physicians and physician assistants for the treatment of depression. The focus of this study was on five main areas to include: practitioners knowledge about recent studies showing the effectiveness of exercise for treatment or part of a combination treatment for depression, if they feel exercise is an effective treatment, if they are using exercise with their patients, if they feel confident with their ability to prescribe exercise, and any perceived barriers to using exercise as a treatment. From analysis of the responses, it was determined that practitioners are aware that studies have shown exercise to be a credible treatment option for depression, but most practitioners feel that it should be used in combination with another therapy. Most practitioners are reportedly recommending exercise in general, but less than half of practitioners are familiar with the current exercise recommendations. Only a few practitioners are providing specific exercise advice, and almost none are giving exercise prescriptions. The overall conclusion is that exercise is not being used in the clinical setting in a way in which is can effectively treat depression.

Introduction Depression is a common disorder that affects approximately 17 million people in the United States annually, with an estimated cost of $53 billion for both the direct and indirect care associated with depression (Thackery & Harris, 2003). According to the Saunders Manual of Medical Practice, depression will affect one third of adults in the United States at some point during their life (Rakel & Redden, 2000). According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), the lifetime risk for major depressive disorder (MMD) in community samples was between 10% and 25% for women and between 5% and 12% for men. Depression is a serious disease that is associated with a high mortality rate. The DSM-IV states that as many as 15% of people suffering with major depressive disorder die from suicide. The first episode of depression commonly occurs in individuals who are in their mid-twenties, but the disorder can affect

people of all ages. Depression can present as a single isolated episode, or as multiple episodes over the course of one’s life. Nevertheless, 60% of people who have experienced a single major depressive episode will undergo another episode.

The episodes will end completely for approximately two-thirds of people who suffer from major depressive disorder. The other onethird of depression sufferers only achieve partialremission from their symptoms, and may continue to have repeated episodes (American Psychiatric Association, 2005).

The treatment for depression involves a few options. According to Family Medicine: Ambulatory Care and Prevention, pharmacotherapy is considered first line treatment for moderate to severe depression. All of the antidepressant medications generally have the same effectiveness, and therefore a drug should be selected based on its side-effect profiles. For that reason, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are the most commonly used. Other options include tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs); however, these are used less commonly due to more complex dosing regimens and increased side effects. Patients may not respond to one medication, and in those cases a different medication may be tried or additional medication may be added. Psychotherapy may be considered as a first line option for milder forms of depression, and it should be considered in combination with pharmacotherapy for moderate to severe depression. Alternative treatment options mentioned include exercise, acupuncture, yoga, and meditation; however, specifics and efficacy of these methods are not established (Mengel & Schweibert, 2009). Saunders Manual of Medical Practice discusses electroconvulsive therapy as another option, which involves the application of an electrical current to the brain through electrodes for a fraction of a second to induce a reaction thought to be beneficial to those suffering from depression. This type of therapy is usually only used on those who are suicidal or non-responsive to medication. It is effective in 90% of patients within two weeks. A last option mentioned is exercise.

Exercise is about as effective as psychotherapy in treating mild to moderate depression, and should be a standard recommendation for those who are receptive to it. However, even with these other treatment options, it would appear that pharmacotherapy remains the main form of treatment for depression. (Rakel & Redden, 2000).

The challenge in treating depression is that many people are nonresponsive to therapy. While the use of antidepressant medications is the most common form of therapy, some studies have found it to be ineffective in many cases. One study concluded that at least half of patients do not respond to a single antidepressant, and 30% of patients do not benefit from several courses of pharmacotherapy (Adis I. Limited, 2010). Another study stated that two-thirds of patients do not respond to the initial antidepressant prescribed, and up to another one-third will not respond to multiple interventions. This is often referred to as therapy-

5 resistant depression. The most commonly used definition of therapy-resistant depression is when two courses of antidepressants of different types, administered at the proper dose over an adequate period of time, fail to alleviate depression.

Furthermore, many people experience unwanted side-effects associated with the various antidepressant drugs. With so many people unable to achieve remission of their symptoms through conventional pharmacological means, it is obvious that there is greater need for other options for the treatment of depression (Little, 2009).

Exercise for the Treatment of Depression One option for the treatment of depression that has been making its way into the clinical setting is exercise. There have been many studies over the past few decades that have proven the effectiveness of exercise to treat depression, or at least reduce the severity of depression symptoms, but there is little research on the clinical use of exercise specifically for the treatment of depression. However, there have been some studies that determined the utilization of exercise in general, which gives some insight into whether or not exercise is being employed in the clinical setting.

According to a study completed by Auburn University, 91% of physicians regularly encourage their patients to engage in physical activity.

However, it was found that 75% of these physicians did not develop exercise prescriptions, and only 23% of them were familiar with the exercise prescription guidelines that are presented by the American College of Sports Medicine. This study also found that 3% of the physicians surveyed had never taken a college-level course in exercise physiology or one related to the development of exercise prescriptions.

Furthermore, 78% of the physicians surveyed admitted they thought there should be courses about the medical aspect of exercise incorporated into the medical school curriculum (Williford, Barfield, Lazenby, & Sharff-Olson, 1992).

A similar study of American resident physicians was conducted among 251 internal medicine physicians. This study found that only

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

15.5% of the physicians counsel more than 80% of their patients about exercise. Most (93%) of them reported understanding the benefits of exercise.

However, only 29% felt that they are successful getting their patients to start exercising, and only 28% felt confident with their ability to prescribe exercise to their patients. Over 90% of the physicians responded that they think additional exercise counseling training would be valuable (Rogers et al., 2002).

In a separate study of American primary care physicians, it was concluded that only 12% of physicians were familiar with the current ACSM exercise recommendations, and only 43% of physicians counseled more than half of their patients about exercise. This study also showed that 82% of older physicians (over 35 years old) would ask their patients about exercise compared to only 60% of younger physicians (under 35 years old).

Furthermore, 58% of older physicians versus 39% of younger physicians would counsel their patients about exercise. While older physicians were more likely to inquire and discuss exercise with their patients, only 30% of them report prescribing exercise for their patients. Among younger physicians the number is even lower, with only 8% of the physicians surveyed reporting that they prescribe exercise. This study also evaluated how the physicians’ confidence levels on this topic affected their actions. It found that 72% of physicians who felt confident with their knowledge would ask their patients about exercise, compared to only 49% of physicians who lacked this confidence. When it came to counseling the patients, only 48% of those who felt confident with their knowledge would counsel their patients, and even less, only 29% of those who felt they had inadequate knowledge on the subject, would counsel their patients (Walsh, Swangard, Davis, & McPhee, 1999).

Another study to determine the exercise counseling and prescription habits of Canadian primary care physicians was conducted with a response from 13,166 physicians. The study found that 85.2% of physicians admitted that they inquired about the physical activity levels of their

6 patients. Also, 69.8% of the primary care physicians surveyed reported counseling patients verbally about implementing an exercise program, but only 15.8% of the physicians provided a written form or exercise prescription for their patients (Petrella, Lattanzio, & Overend, 2007).

These numbers are all significant, because it has been shown that a written exercise prescription is more effective than verbal advice alone. In a study published in the American Journal of Public Health, written exercise prescriptions were found to be more beneficial than verbal advice to not only increase the number of people engaging in physical activity, but also to increase the amount of time that individuals were engaging in physical activities. Before the study began, 51% of the participants who were given a written exercise prescription claimed to be active, and 44% of those who received verbal advice were active. After six weeks a follow-up was conducted on these individuals. The follow-up results showed that 35% of those who were previously inactive began engaging in physical activity after receiving the written prescription, compared to the 22% of people who began engaging in physical activity after receiving only verbal advice. Additionally, of the individuals (51%) in the written prescription group who began the study already engaging in some sort of physical activity, 78% of them reported an increase in the amount of time they were involved in physical activity. The median increase in time spent engaged in exercise for the written prescription group was ninety minutes every two weeks. Of the individuals who already engaged in physical activity in the verbal advice group, 63% of them reported an increase of in the amount of time spent engaging in exercise. The verbal advice group had a median increase of eighty minutes every two weeks. While a written exercise prescription and verbal advice both help to increase physical activity level, the written prescription has proven to be slightly more effective (Swinburn, Walter, Arroll, Tilyard, & Russell, 1998).

Despite the fact that a written exercise prescription is one of the most effective means of

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

getting someone to start exercising, the number of physicians who provide written exercise prescriptions is remarkably low. Some of the barriers to writing exercise prescriptions has been documented in various studies. One of the main barriers often described is the lack of time to write out an individualized and detailed exercise prescription. Also, there is a general consensus that most physicians are more confident giving general exercise advice than a specific individualized plan.

This fact leads to other commonly expressed obstacles, which include a lack of confidence in their ability to provide an exercise prescription combined with a lack of a standardized protocol for physicians on how to go about writing an exercise prescription. Furthermore, some physicians may have inadequate knowledge about the benefits of physical activity for specific conditions. Some physicians noted a lack of reimbursement to provide exercise prescriptions. Finally, because providing a written exercise prescription is perceived as taking much of a physician’s time, if they sense a lack of patient motivation to carry out the exercise prescription, they are less likely to spend the time to write one (Swinburn, Walter, Arroll, Tilyard, & Russell, 1997).

When it comes to treating depression specifically, most cases of depression are diagnosed and treated in the primary care setting.

In 1999, there was a study published in the Archives of Family Medicine that presented the types of care that primary care physicians typically offered. Of the 621 physicians surveyed, 5% of them simply employed watchful waiting, in which they would have the patient follow-up in a few weeks to see how their symptoms were progressing; 39% of them encouraged their patient to engage in exercise or another recreational activity; 32% provided less than five minutes of counseling; 40% provided five or more minutes of counseling; 85% of the physicians prescribed an antidepressant medication; 6% referred to a psychiatrist; and 31% referred their patients to a psychologist or social worker. Furthermore, this study discussed potential patient barriers to treatment. They found that 37% of the patients

7 were limited in their treatment options by their insurance coverage. Also, 44% of the patients were reluctant to take antidepressant medication, while 54% expressed concern about the adverse side effects associated with medication. In fact, various studies have shown that 20-59% of patients in the primary care setting stop taking prescribed antidepressants within three weeks. Moreover, 52% of the patients in this study were reluctant to see a mental health professional, and for 48% of the patients, mental health professional services were not affordable. Additionally, 37% of the patients were reluctant to accept their diagnoses, usually because of the negative stigma commonly associated with depression (Williams et al., 1999).

Exercise as a treatment for depression may be a good option for a number of reasons. First, exercise has been proven to be an effective means of treating depression and preventing relapse, but it also has many other physical health benefits.

Therefore, by using exercise you are benefiting the patient in more than one aspect. Secondly, it offers an alternative to the 44% of patients who do not feel comfortable with the idea of taking an antidepressant medication. While efforts are being made to reduce the negative stigma associated with depression, it is still present to some degree.

Consequently, exercise is a good option because it can be recommended for most people, and is not associated with this negative stigma. On the other hand, there are some barriers that need to be overcome by the patient in order for exercise to be an effective treatment. A depressed patient is often considered to have a lack of motivation, be apathetic, and give up easily. These traits can make it hard to get a depressed patient to adopt and adhere to an exercise program. They may need ongoing support from their practitioner with additional support from family or friends.

Something that may help a depressed patient to overcome potential obstacles is a pre-planned individualized exercise program in which the patient has set realistic and achievable goals. Also, it is helpful to discuss how to overcome potential barriers that they may face with adoption of an exercise program (Seime & Vickers, 2006).

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

Methodology The purpose of this study was to determine physician and physician assistant knowledge about recent studies showing the effectiveness of exercise for treatment or part of a combination treatment for depression, if they feel exercise is an effective treatment, if they are using it with their patients, if they feel confident with their ability to prescribe exercise, and any perceived barriers to using exercise as a treatment. To achieve this objective, I developed an appropriate survey. I used a 5-point Likert scale survey, and divided the survey into those five areas stated in the objective of the study.

In total, the survey contained 21 statements/questions for the participants to respond to. Also, to obtain some demographics for comparison, I included on the survey a section for the participant to indicate their title (M.D., D.O. and PA-C) and number of years of experience (0-5 years, 5-10 years, and 20+ years). Also, an appropriate cover letter was developed to accompany the survey to inform the participants that the survey was completely anonymous and provide my contact information in the event that they had any questions.

I located primary care practices in Cambria and Blair counties through various local phonebooks and internet search engines, through which I was able to obtain their contact information. I called each office to let them know who I was and that I would like to deliver some surveys for their physicians and physician assistants. I also inquired how many practitioners there were in the office so I knew how many surveys to deliver. The surveys were hand-delivered with a return envelope already addressed and postage paid.

Two weeks after I had delivered the surveys, I decided to expand beyond Cambria and Blair counties to increase my response. I included a few offices in Bedford, Somerset and Clearfield counties. Because these offices were somewhat further away, I decided to mail the surveys to them instead of hand-delivering them, and each return envelope was arranged as I had done previously and I placed in a larger envelop to be mailed to the offices.

8 Results The response rate for the surveys was 31% with 73 out of 236 surveys returned. Four of the surveys had to be thrown out due to incompleteness, leaving 69 surveys for analysis. The data were broken up into a physician group and a physician assistant group with 37 and 32 surveys respectively. The Mann-Whitney statistical test was performed for each of the 21 questions, comparing the responses between the physicians and physician assistants. From this analysis, it was determined that there was no statistically significant difference in the responses of the two groups in all questions except a few, which are described below (significance determined as p <0.05). Also, the data were analyzed by sorting the participant into years of experience. An analysis of variance was performed comparing the data broken up into years of experience (0-5, 5-10, 10-20, and 20+), and showed that there was no significant difference in the means based upon the number of years of experience for either the physician group or the physician assistant group. For these reasons, the results presented are a combined response of all participants surveyed and represents the opinions of both physicians and physician assistants (except in those questions specified below) at all levels of experience.

According to the results of the survey, 75.4% of practitioners feel that they are familiar with recent studies demonstrating the effectiveness of exercise to treat depression, with 47.8% of practitioners being familiar with studies showing the current exercise recommendations for the treatment of depression. 65.2% of practitioners feel that they are comfortable enough with this information to utilize it in clinical practice.

Only 15.9% of practitioners agree that exercise by itself can be an acceptable form of treatment for depression. However, 82.6% of practitioners agree that exercise is beneficial, but feel that it should be used in combination with another form of therapy.

Exercise is reported to be used by 58% of practitioners as a first choice for the treatment of mild to moderate depression, but only 13% of

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

participants feel that exercise is a good option for therapy resistant depression.

69.6% of practitioners report discussing exercise as a treatment for depression often to almost always with their patients, while 88.4% report that they often to almost always discuss exercise in combination with other therapies with their patients. When comparing how exercise is discussed with the patients, the physician and physician assistant responses were significantly varied. 93.8% of physician assistants report that they often to almost always provide their depressed patients with general exercise advice verbally, compared to 78.4% of physicians. 68.8% of physician assistants report that they often to almost always provide their depressed patients with specific exercise advice verbally compared to only 40.5% of physicians. 93.8% of physician assistants report that they rarely/never provide their depressed patients with a written exercise prescription compared to 78.4% of physicians. Only 4.3% of practitioners report that they will often refer their patient to an exercise specialist, with 94.2% reporting that they rarely/never do so.

84.1% of practitioners feel confident with their ability to provide generalized exercise advice for a depressed patient, while only 53.6% feel confident with their ability to provide individualized exercise advice. Less than half (42%) agree that their medical education adequately prepared them to provide generalized advice, and only 14.5% agree that their medical education prepared them to adequately provide individualized exercise plans.

44.9% of practitioners feel that patients are not receptive to the idea of exercise to treat their depression, and 42% of feel that short appointment times limit their ability to prescribe individualized exercise plans. 39.1% of respondents neither agreed nor disagreed, while 29% agreed that they are reluctant to spend time to prescribe exercise to an apathetic patient. 47.8% feel that their lack of specific knowledge on the topic limits their ability to prescribe exercise for depression.

9 Discussion When comparing my results to previous studies on the use of exercise in clinical practice, there are some similarities and some variances. My study determined that 47.8% of practitioners were familiar with current exercise recommendations for depression. Previous studies have found that considerably fewer physicians (23% and 12%) are familiar with current exercise recommendations (Walsh et al., 1999; Williford et al., 1992). This could be a positive sign that practitioners have become more familiar with exercise recommendations over that past few years; however, to determine if this were the case, research would need to be done to determine if the practitionersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; knowledge on the topic is accurate.

Significant variance is also found between studies comparing the number of practitioners who discuss exercise with their patients. According to my research, 69.6% of practitioners discuss exercise with their patients. Previous studies have found this number to be as high as 91% and as low as 15.5% (Rogers et al., 2002; Williford et al., 1992). When discussing counseling of patients, a previous study found that 69.8% of practitioners counsel their patients about exercise verbally (Petrella et al., 2007). This is slightly less than my data on the percentage of practitioners that provide general verbal exercise advice (93.8% of physician assistants and 78.4% of physicians), but comparable to the percentage of physicians assistants (68.8%) who provide specific verbal exercise advice.

My data suggest that 10.8% of physicians and 3.3% of physician assistants are providing exercise prescriptions. According to the results of previous research, as few as 8% of young physicians and as many as 30% of older physicians are providing exercise prescriptions (Walsh et al., 1999). Another study determined that 15.8% of physicians are providing exercise prescriptions (Petrella et al., 2007). These results are comparable to my data of physicians who are providing exercise prescriptions, but are significantly higher than my finding of only 3.3% of physician assistants providing exercise prescriptions.

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

From my study, I found that 84.1% of practitioners feel confident with their ability to prescribe general exercise plans, and 53.6% feel confident with their ability to prescribe specific exercise plans. These data conflict with a previous study which found that only 28% of physicians feel confident with their ability to provide exercise prescriptions (Rogers et al., 2002). Despite my finding that practitioners are fairly confident with their ability to prescribe exercise, my data show that only 14.5% of them feel that their medical education adequately prepared them to provide exercise prescriptions. Similarly, other studies found that a significant portion (78% and 90%) of physicians feel that there needs to be more training dedicated to prescribing exercise (Rogers et al., 2002; Williford et al., 1992).

When comparing results, it is important to note that all of the previous studies referenced only pertain to primary care physiciansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; use of exercise in general and not for depression specifically. This may account for some of the variability in responses.

Conclusions The purpose of this study was to answer 5 main questions: if practitionersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; are knowledgeable about the research demonstrating exercise as an effective treatment for depression alone or in combination with another therapy, if they feel it is effective, if they are utilizing it with their patients, if they are confident with their ability to prescribe exercise, and the significance of perceived barriers to prescribing exercise to treat depression. From my research, it can be concluded that a significant portion of primary care practitioners are familiar with previous research on exercise as a treatment for depression; however, fewer than half of them are familiar with the current exercise recommendations for depression given in these studies. When considering the practitionersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; beliefs on the effectiveness of exercise to treat depression, it can be concluded that exercise is considered in many cases, but more so for mild to moderate cases; however, most practitioners still feel that it should be used in combination with other therapies.

10 Few practitioners feel exercise alone is an acceptable treatment, and even fewer practitioners feel that it has a place in the treatment of therapy resistant depression. A large number of practitioners report discussing exercise often to almost always with their depressed patients, but it is more common for practitioners to discuss exercise as part of a combination treatment plan. It can also be concluded that practitioners are not providing written exercise prescriptions or referring patients to exercise specialists, most likely because exercise is not being considered as the main component of the treatment plan. Most practitioners feel confident with their ability to provide generalized exercise advice; however, a significant number of practitioners do not feel that their medical education adequately prepared them to provide exercise advice. About half of practitioners feel that their lack of specific knowledge on the topic limits their ability to prescribe exercise for depression, indicating a need for further formal education in this area. Strong conclusions were not able to be drawn indicating the barriers to prescribing exercise in the primary care setting as there was not a significantly common response for any of the questions. From these data, it can be concluded that patients not being receptive to exercise to treat their depression, short appointment times, and apathetic patients are not as significant barriers as hypothesized.

Overall, it can be concluded that the general consensus of primary care practitioners is that exercise is a good general recommendation that is given to most depressed patients, but it is not being used specifically in the general population in a way in which patients are able to achieve the same effectiveness as seen in the research studies. In order to achieve comparable effectiveness to the research studies in the clinical setting, practitioners are going to need to become better educated on the specific exercise recommendations needed to reach a therapeutic response among depressed patients, and also on how to provide adequate exercise prescriptions to their patients.

Further research on this topic is needed to identify what practitioners are currently

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

recommending. This study found that most practitioners feel confident with their ability to provide exercise advice, but most felt that their medical education did not adequately prepare them to provide exercise advice. From this it can be concluded that most knowledge on this topic was gained after their formal education. Therefore, it would be interesting to compare what practitioners are advising to the current ACSM recommendations to determine if practitioners are providing the most beneficial guidance. Also, due to the limited number of respondents at each experience level, further research would need to be completed to more accurately determine if there are differences in the beliefs and practices based on years of experience.

Works Cited Adis I. Limited. (2010). Atypical antipsychotics may be useful as adjucts to antidepressant therapy in treatmentresistant depression. Drugs and Therapy Perspectives, 26(4), 17-19.

American Psychiatric Association. (2005). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV-TR (4th ed.). Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association.

Little, A. (2009, July 15). Treatment-Resistant Depression.

American Family Physician, 80(2), 167-172.

Mengel, M. B., & Schweibert, L. P. (2009). Family Medicine: Ambulatory Care and Prevention (5th ed.). (J. Shanahan, & C. Naglieri, Eds.) United States: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Petrella, R. J., Lattanzio, C. N., & Overend, T. J. (2007, September 10). Physicial Activity Counseling and Prescription Among Canadian Primary Care Physicians.

Archives of Internal Medicine, 167(16), 1774-1781.

Rakel, R. E., & Redden, J. (2000). Saunders manual of medical practice (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders.

Rogers, L. Q., Bailey, J. E., Gutin, B., Johnson, K. C., Levine, M. A., Milan, F., et al. (2002, August). Teaching Resident Physicians to Provide Exercise Couseling: A Needs Assessment. Academic Medicine, 77(8), 841-844.

Seime, R. J., & Vickers, K. S. (2006, May). The Challenges of Treating Depression with Exercise: From Evidence to Practice. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 13(2), 194-197.

Swinburn, B. A., Walter, L. G., Arroll, B., Tilyard, M. W., & Russell, D. G. (1997, September). Green Prescriptions: attitudes and perceptions of general practitioners towards prescribing exercise. British Journal of General Practice, 47(422), 567-569.

11 Swinburn, B. A., Walter, L. G., Arroll, B., Tilyard, M. W., & Russell, D. G. (1998, February). The Green Prescription Study: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Written Exercise Advice Provided by General Practitioners.

American Journal of Public Health, 88(2), 288-291.

Thackery, E., & Harris, M. (2003). The Gale encyclopedia of mental disorders (Vol. 1). Detroit, Michigan: Gale Group.

Walsh, J. M., Swangard, D. M., Davis, T., & McPhee, S. J. (1999, May). Exercise couseling by primary care physicians in the era of managed care. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 16(4), 307-313.

Williams, J. W., Rost, K., Dietrich, A. J., Ciotti, M. C., Cornell, J., & Zyzanski, S. J. (1999, January/February).

Primary Care Physicians' Approach to Depressive Disorders: Effects of Physician Specialty and Practice Structure. Achives of Family Medicine, 8, 58-67.

Williford, H. N., Barfield, B. R., Lazenby, R. B., & SharffOlson, M. (1992, September). A survey of physicians' attitudes and practices related to exercise. Preventive Medicine, 21(5), 630-636.

Chelsea Weimert (BS â&#x20AC;&#x2122;12; MPAS â&#x20AC;&#x2122;13) is a Physician Assistant Sciences major with a minor in Exercise Physiology. She hopes to work locally upon graduation.

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

12

Surface pKa and Cytochrome c: How the surface pKa of a Self-Assembled Monolayer affects the Formal Reduction Potential and the Electron Transfer Rate of Adsorbed Cytochrome c.

Agnieszka N. Marciniak Chemistry Department School of Sciences anm102@francis.edu

Laura E. Ritchey Chemistry Department School of Sciences les101@francis.edu Rose A. Clark, Ph.D. Chemistry Department School of Sciences rclark@francis.edu

Introduction: Without proteins our bodies would be nonexistent, and thus it is extremely important to understand how and why the protein functions as well as the conditions under which the protein functions most efficiently. One protein in our bodies that transfers electrons during cellular respiration is cytochrome c (cyt c). Typically cyt c is studied by adsorbing it onto a self-assembled monolayer (SAM), which in this particular study is a film of alkanethiol derivatives or diluent thiols bound to a thin layer of gold (Figure 1). The rate of electron transfer from cyt c to the gold electrode surface can be measured. As various conditions are adjusted, the rate changes and the conditions that produce the most effective function of cyt c can be determined.

Figure 1: Self-Assembled Monolayer1 This is a pictorial representation of the SAM and how the probe molecule (cyt c) adsorbs to the monolayer.

One condition that has been studied previously is that of adjusting the monolayer on the SAM by various lengths of alkanethiols or amount of alkanethiols compared to the diluent thiols2.

Another condition studied is the surface pKa of the SAM. The surface pKa can be determined by adjusting the pH of the solution surrounding the SAM. As the pH of the solution increases, the carboxylic acids on the end of the alkanethiol derivatives begin to become deprotonated. The more the SAM is deprotonated, the more weakly it interacts with the probe molecule, and the lower the current measured in the cyclic voltammogram (CV).3 In order to measure the rate of electron transfer and the current produced from the SAM, an electrochemical cell is set up (Figure 2). When this cell is connected to a potentiostat and a potential is applied, the current and potential produced at various scan rates are used to determine the electron transfer rate as well as the formal reduction potential of the cyt c. When determining the surface pKa, potassium ferricyanide is used as a probe. A potential is applied from the potentiostat and the ferricyanide currents are measured at various pH environments and as mentioned above are used to calculate the surface pKa. Knowing the pKa of the SAM surface will allow for a correlation to be made between the protein electrochemistry and the electrode surface properties.

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

Figure 2: Electrochemical cell1 This the setup of the electrochemical cell used in this study. Various solutions can be placed in the tube containing the auxiliary and reference electrodes to adsorb cytochrome c or to run the potentiostat.

Experimental Sample Electrode Preparation In order to prepare the electrodes, the gold film electrodes are placed in a beaker. The gold electrodes are covered with concentrated HNO3, which is then boiled. The Au electrodes are removed from the beaker, rinsed with Millipore water into another beaker, and rinsed a second time with absolute ethanol into yet another beaker. The electrodes are then placed into individual containers that contain 1 mM C15COOH, and 1 mM C10COH. Allow the electrodes to self-assemble for at least 24 hours.

In order to collect the background data needed to properly analyze the signal, assemble the electrochemical cell with the Au electrode as shown in Figure 2. While in the cell, the electrode is then rinsed once with Millipore water, once with 40 mM phosphate buffer (PB), and then three times with 4.4 mM PB buffer. Once the cell is attached to the potentiostat, the background data is collected at a scan rate of 100 mV/s and a potential window from 0.3 to -0.3 V. Adsorption of Cytochrome c on Gold Electrode After the buffer in the electrochemical cell is discarded, place approximately 5 drops of 30 ÂľM cyt c into the electrochemical cell and allow the cyt c to adsorb for about 30 minutes. Rinse the cell once with 40 mM PB, and three times with 4.4 mM PB. The data is collected by varying the scan rate in a potential window of 0.3 V to -0.3 V.

13

Analyzing the pKa of the SAM Discard any solution in the electrochemical cell and rinse the electrode three times with 1 M KCl. Collect a background CV in KCl with a potential window of 0.5 V to -0.4 V. Potassium Ferricyanide solutions were prepared in, 200 mM phosphate buffer, 1 M KCl and pHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d individually with 6 M NaOH or 6 M HCl. Rinse the electrode with the lowest pH potassium ferricyanide solution once and collect a CV with that pH. Continue rinsing the electrode with the next pH solution and collecting the CV. Repeat this process through each pH as needed up to a pH around 10.

Inducing Pinholes Rinse the cell with 4.4 mM PB and collect background data. Scan the system with a potential window of 0.7 V to -0.7 V until the background is noticeably greater than the previous background.

The pKa can then be analyzed at this point. In order to induce more pinholes, the system is scanned with a potential window of 0.8 V to -0.8 V until the background is larger than it was after the previous scan. The pKa is also determined at this step.

Figure 3: Overlay of Cyt c cyclic voltammograms at different scan rates. This is an overlay of the various scan rates for the electrode one of 5/24/11 that shows how as the scan rate is increased, the peaks become larger and more spread

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

Figure 4: Determination of Cyt c Electron Transport Rate. The line of best fit to the data points using Marcus Theory allows for the determination of the electron transfer rate for cyt c on the SAM modified gold electrode.

Figure 5: Overlays of Cyclic Voltammograms with varying pH ferricyanide solutions. This overlay represents how as the pH of the solution increases, the peak current decreases and becomes less defined.

14 Discussion and Conclusion The first part of this study was to determine what the electron transfer rate between the cytochrome c and the gold electrode is using a monolayer of 50 % carboxylic acid terminated groups with 10 carbons (C10COOH) and 50% hydroxyl terminated groups with 6 carbons (C6OH) as well as 25% C10COOH and 75% C6OH and 100% C10COOH. As can be seen in Table 1, the rate was the slowest for the electrodes with 50% C10COOH and the 25% and 100% were the same rate (the 25% is more consistent). This seems to fit the trend seen in previous research.2 The formal potential (vs. NHE) increases as the amount of C10COOH increases.

Averages: 50/50 FWHM

stdev

count

0.106

0.005

8

E 1/2 (mV)

-32

8

8

rate

8

3

8

pKa

5.5

0.1

8

E1/2 vs NHE (V)

0.20

0.01

8

25/75 FWHM5 E 1/2 (mV) rate pKa

0.10 -36 10 6.5

0.01 7 2 0.4

6 6 6 6

E1/2 vs NHE (V)

0.19

0.01

6

0.110 -3 10 5.7 0.215

0.004 8 5 0.3 0.009

6 6 6 6 6

100 FWHM E 1/2 (mV) rate pKa E1/2 vs NHE (V)

Figure 6: pKa analysis of a SAM using the currents at a specified potential. Using the current at -0.4 V, this graph shows how the line of best fit that is used to determine the surface pKa is for the SAM.

Table 1: Chart depicting the averages of all the electrodes studied. This chart presents the data gathered from all 20 electrodes studied. The data shown is the full width at half max (FWHM), the formal potential versus Ag/AgCl, the electron transfer rate, the surface pKa, and the formal potential versus NHE.

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

The surface pKa of the SAMs should be able to indicate how well the cytochrome c is able to bind to the monolayer. The pKa of the SAM should affect the electron transfer rate as well as the formal potential of the protein. The lower the pKa of a SAM, the more the carboxylic acids are deprotonated,4 and is able to be attracted to the positive lysine groups on the cyt c. As can be seen in the above chart, the pKa value for the 25% C10COOH is the highest, while the pKa value for the 50% C10COOH is the lowest.

15 When looking at the average pKa values, average electron transfer rates, and average formal potentials, it is hard to determine whether they are related as predicted by theory. Figure 7 depicts the individual relationships between the pKa values of each electron and the rate and formal potential of those electrons. As can be seen from these graphs, there is no correlation between the surface pKa and the formal potentials or the electron transfer rate as would have been expected.

100% C10COOH

25% C10COOH

50% C10COOH

Correlation between pKa and formal potential pKa and electron transfer rate

Figure 7: Correlation studies between pKa and the formal potential or the electron transfer rate As can be seen from these graphs, there is not a good correlation between the pK a and either the formal potential or the electron transfer rate. The only correlation seen is that the formal potential seems to decrease with the pKa values for the electrodes which have a 50% C10COOH or a 25% C10COOH monolayer.

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

16

Date Electrode of Day 25-May 1 50/50 C10COOH/C6OH

--Stipped once Stripped twice 50/50 C10COOH/C6OH --Stipped once Stripped twice 50/50 C10COOH/C6OH --Stripped once Stripped twice 50/50 C10COOH/C6OH --Stripped once Stripped twice

25-May

2

27-May

3

27-May

4

31-May

1

31-May

2

6-Jun

1

100 C10COOH

6-Jun

2

100 C10COOH

25/75 C10COOH/C6OH

--Stripped once Stripped twice 25/75 C10COOH/C6OH --Stripped once Stripped twice --Stripped once Stripped twice --Stripped once Stripped twice

pKa 5.3 5.25 6.35 5.75 5.3 6.15 5.4 5.65 6.25 5.45 5.45 7.4 6.95 7.3 6 7.1 7.25 6.4 5.85 5.65 5.75 5.4 5.35 5.65

Table 2: pKa values after pinholes were induced. As can be seen from the data, when pinholes are induced into the monolayer the surface pKa does indeed change.

‘Stripped once’ or ‘stripped twice’ on the table indicated that pinholes were induced once or twice, respectively.

Since the pKa values did not support the formal potentials or electron transfer rates seen, there must be a reason why. The hypothesis is that the surface pKa values gathered are not necessarily the surface pKa values of the monolayer itself, but rather the surface pKa of the pinholes that are in the monolayer. In order to determine whether this was an accurate hypothesis or not, pinholes were induced into the monolayer to see whether the surface pKa values did change. This data is presented in Table 2. As can be seen by the table, the surface pKa does change when pinholes are induced. Although there is not a general trend of how the pKa changes, the pKa values are varied and indicates that perhaps the pKa values gathered are

not from the top of the monolayer but are at the pinholes. This causes a problem when attempting to compare data to other’s work. Since this study used gold films, the monolayers were even and were not rough. Some studies, however, use gold coated beads that lend themselves to having a rough surface where pinholes would be present without even inducing them.

Because of the fact that the surface pKa values obtained are more than likely the pKa values at the pinholes rather than the surface of the monolayer itself, there are future studies that would need to occur before more concrete data can be established.

In order to prove this hypothesis, one could compare the data between the formal potentials, rates, and pKa values from the gold films to those from the bulk gold balls. Also, in order to determine how the pinholes should affect the formal potential and rate, pinholes could be induced into the gold film and then cyt c adsorbed.

These studies would give more information to better understand this concept, and would allow cyt c to be better understood and provide more information to this valuable protein in our bodies.

Works Cited 1. Trout, C.J.; Schirra, C.N.; Clark, R.A. “Electrochemical Titration of Self-Assembled Monolayers: A Comparison of Surface Composition and Ordering” Poster, Chemistry Honor Society Meeting, University of North Carolina – Pembroke, 2011.

2. Yue, H.; Schrock, K.A; Knorr, K.B.; Switzer, S.L.; Kirby, D. J.; Rosmus, J.J.; Waldeck, D.H.; Clark, R. A. “Multiple Sites for Electron Tunneling between Cytochrome c and Mixed Slef-Assembled Monolayers (SAM)” J. Phys. Chem. C, 2008, 112, 2514-2521.

3. Gooding, J. J.; Hale, P.S.; Maddox, L. M; Shapter, J.G; “Surface pKa of Self-Assembled Monolayers.” J. Chem.

Educ., 2005, 82(5), 779.

4. Dai, Z.; Ju, H. “Effect of chain length on the surface properties of ω-carboxy alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers.” Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2001, 3, 37693773

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

Background information to understand the experiment: Clark, R. A.; Bowden, E. F. Langmuir 1997, 13, 559-565.

Nakano, K., Yoshitake, T.; Bowden, E.F. Analytical Sciences, 2001, 17, i1357-i1358.

Niki, K.; Hardy, W.R.; Hill, M.G.; Li, H.; Sprinkle, J.R.; Margoliash, E.; Fujita, K.; Tanimura, R.; Nakamura, N.; Ohno, H.; Richards, J.H; Gray, H.B. J. Phys. Chem. B, 2003, 107, 9947-9949.

Petrović, J.; Clark, R.A.; Yue, H.; Waldeck, D.H.; Bowden, E. Langmuir, 2005, 21. 6308-6316.

Yue, H.; Waldeck, D.H.; Petrović, J.; Clark, R.A. J. Phys.

Chem. B, 2006. 110. 5062-5072.

Dai, Z.; Ju, H. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2001, 3, 3769-3773

Agnieszka Marciniak (’12) is a double major in Chemistry (B.A.) and Sociology (B.A.) with a minor in Forensic Science. She plans to continue her education by earning a Ph.D. in Sociology with a concentration in Cultural Sociology. She is interested in researching collective memory of the Holocaust and its difference between the United States, Poland, and Germany.

Laura Ritchey ('12) is a Chemistry Biochemistry major. She plans to continue her education by earning her Ph. D in Chemistry. She has received the Father Albert Driesch/Avian Technologies Award for Excellence in Organic Chemistry, the SACP senior college award, and the Dr. Jayne Kimlin award for Physical Sceinces. She is the president of the Rho Nu chapter of Gamma Sigma Epsilon: National Chemistry Honor Society.

17

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

18

The Complex Cat and Society’s Signifiers in “Sam the Cat” Eric S. Horell English, Communications Arts and Foreign Languages Department School of Arts and Letters esh100@francis.edu Matthew Klam’s “Sam the Cat” is a modern day exploration into the blurry area between heterosexuality and homosexuality and one man’s realization and journey from the former to the latter. The story follows Sam, a womanizing ad executive who one night mistakes a shapely posterior for that of a beautiful woman only to find it is actually attached to a handsome man. From that point on, Sam cannot erase the image from his conscious and is shocked to find he does not necessarily mind the male buttocks that haunt his dreams. The story’s main conflict centers around Sam trying to embrace his true identity as a gay man while shaking his old persona of Sam the Cat, the slinky, promiscuous mask he can’t seem to take off. Through deconstruction, I will show that Sam is really not struggling with his gay identity as much as he is trying to buck the label society has bestowed on him, a task that is far more daunting than anything he would have to cope with personally.

Before we can solve the psychosis that is Sam, we need to solidify Sam’s labeled identity as Cat. According to critic Paul de Man, “We may no longer be hearing very much about relevance, but we do continue to hear a great deal about reference, about the nonverbal ‘outside’ to which language refers, by which it is conditioned, and upon which it acts” (364). To understand Sam, we need to label Sam and his corresponding symbols, to remove them from the story, and to dissect them here in de Man’s “outside world” so that we may better grasp them in their fictional environment.

This is not a difficult task when you consider Sam’s household pet: a cat named Skippy. Skippy is the dividing line between Straight Sam and Gay Sam. It is on the day Sam primps and pampers

Robin L. Cadwallader, Ph.D. English, Communication Arts and Foreign Languages Department School of Arts and Letters rcadwallader@francis.edu Skippy that he begins examining his sexual desires, immediately and irrevocably cementing the bond between cat and Sam, forcing us to examine Sam the Cat and Sam the Man, where before he was solely Sam the Cat. Beyond this moment, though, Skippy is fleetingly mentioned. In fact, Skippy’s only other prominent appearance is in the final paragraph after Sam has lost both the woman and the man in his life, leaving him alone with Skippy.

In response, Sam discusses sailing the seas and who he’d marry while touring the world: “And who would I marry? I’ll tell you who I should marry: myself. With my cat Skippy as the mascot” (Klam 28). Readers are left to believe that as Sam continues his search for self after the story ends, he will tote the cat identity with him, signified by Skippy going along on the trip. While mentioned only periodically, Skippy’s place in the tale is significant enough that he is portrayed as the poster child (more like poster pet) for Sam, a sign Sam feels he must carry with him. Sam’s final insistence to hold on to Skippy shows that the cat symbol is extremely important to him. And, as the critic Ferdinand de Saussure wrote, “One character of the symbol is that it is never wholly arbitrary; it is not empty, for there is the rudiment of a natural bond between the signifier and the signified” (843).

In this case, Skippy is the signifier and Sam is the signified. We need to examine, then, why Sam equates himself so strongly with the signifier Cat, what is being signified in the sign, and how Sam feels about his connection with this sign.

There are obvious traits we associate with cats, and the Marxist critic Thorstein Veblen probably captures this best in his book The Theory of the Leisure Class. Concerning the cat, he writes,

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

The cat is less reputable [than the dog] . . . because she is less wasteful; she may even serve a useful end. At the same time the cat’s temperament does not fit her for the honorific purpose. She lives with man on terms of equality, knows nothing of that relation of status which is the ancient basis of all distinctions of worth, honour, and repute, and she does not lend herself with facility to an invidious comparison between her own and his neighbours. (140) Essentially, the cat is a loner. She expects a level of equality with people without the obligation to side with her owner. She is meticulously clean and exceptionally graceful. It’s also interesting, and must be noted here, that Veblen identifies the cat as female. Recall that the story “Sam the Cat” centers around Sam as he tries to discover whether he’s heterosexual or homosexual. It certainly cannot help matters that his signifier is a refined animal that is referred to as a female.

Besides the cat symbol, we also need to study what cat is not through its binary opposite, dog.

“In language,” Saussure argues, “whatever distinguishes one sign from the others constitutes it. Difference makes characters just as it makes value and the unit” (849). Modern society holds that dog and cat are opposites. To prove this, we need only look to popular culture. Read the funny pages in the paper, and you’ll find Garfield, the sly cat able to construct complete thoughts, constantly pummeling the dim-witted, drooling Odie. Turn on the television, and you may catch the 1998 cartoon show Catdog, a series that followed the adventures of two brothers, a cat and a dog, each with the front half of its respected species connected at the waist to its binary opposite. The character Cat is the intellectual with quirky motor skills while Dog is the illiterate jock. The show’s humor falls flat if we don’t consider the two creatures as opposites, which is reinforced by the lyrics to the theme song: One fine day with a woof and a purr, A baby was born, and it caused a little stir.

No blue-eyed buggy, no three-eyed frog, Just a feline canine little Catdog. (Youtube)

19 A show called Cowfish carries no force because the two creatures aren’t connected on the same spectrum; there is no binary opposition to create meaning. Catdog is at least supposed to be funny because we’re supposed to equate ultimate ridiculousness with the image of the mixed-up animal.

Now that we know for sure that dog is not cat, we need to discover just what dog is. Veblen also gives an in-depth analysis of the dog symbol.

Recall that whatever dog is must be what cat is not.

Of the dog, Veblen writes, The dog has advantages in the way of uselessness as well as in special gifts of temperament. He is often spoken of, in an eminent sense, as the friend of man, and his intelligence and fidelity are praised. The meaning of this is that the dog is man’s servant and that he has the gift of unquestioning subservience and a slave’s quickness in guessing his master’s mood. . . . He is the filthiest of the domestic animals in his person and the nastiest in his habits.

For this he makes up in servile, fawning attitude towards his master and a readiness to inflict damage and discomfort to all else.

(141) So, since Sam sees himself as Sam the Cat, and is therefore also Sam the Not Dog, we simply have to sprinkle nots throughout the previous quote to create Sam’s identity. If a dog is the filthiest of all domestic animals, that means the cat is not only prissy but the cleanest of all domestic animals since it must sit on the other side of the spectrum. If a dog is the most loyal of pets and is willing to fight for his master, then the cat is completely, totally independent and will never come to the aid of another; to do so would instantaneously make the cat not a cat.

Considering the revelations of how he cheated on his girlfriend with a mutual friend and then “had sex with [his] pants pulled down on the lawn beside [his] car” with her, it’s not a stretch to say that Sam is a very independent individual to the point of selfishness (Klam 6). Also, while Sam claims, “I love being in love,” he also admits, “[S]ometimes I

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

don’t even know what I’m in love with. I’m in love with the love drug” (7). Notice that in these declarations of love there is no mention of another human being, either male or female. This selfcentered point of view is the reason Sam doesn’t relate to the dog, the animal that is immediately associated with feelings of everlasting companionship, but he denotes his own signifier to be the cat, an animal that can survive outdoors, on its own, catching its own prey. And make no doubt, Sam is a predator. He truly cares for no one else and, like a cat, he always makes sure he lands on his feet, ready to spring and attack. “You know what? I fucked her,” he announces; “She’s done, she’s dead now, so I fly away. I did Ann and her sister and their fat friend” (5). Those are hardly the words of a compassionate individual who is willing to love and defend another.

But all of this is shallow and meaningless if Sam’s own selfishness is as far as we can go. He is, after all, Sam the Cat, “he bad and naughty. He dirty kitty-cat” (13). How does the obvious lend new light to our understanding of Sam and ultimately create a new meaning from the text?

Why does this tale go beyond the self-exposure of a sexually-repressed male trying to catch some tail?

To do this, we must flip the perspective.

If we take deconstruction to another level and fully utilize the three-tier instrument that is sign/signifier/signified, the story becomes an external struggle. In this perspective, Sam knows who he is: an emerging gay man. However, he can’t fully develop because his progress toward maturity is tainted by the signifier cat and by the signified that comes with it. He knows he is Sam the Man—he’s become enlightened and recognized his own humanity—but society has pegged him as Sam the Cat. It’s almost impossible to change this, just like it is almost impossible for Sam to convince people that a tree is not a T R E E but a fish, and a fish is not an F I S H but a dog, and so on. To return to Saussure, we find that “the individual does not have the power to change a sign in any way once it has become established in the linguistic community” (841). We, the citizens of American society, have christened all of these signs with their

20 appropriate signifiers and see no logical reason why we should change them in order to suit one man. The tall green thing is a tree, the moving wet thing is a fish, and the womanizing, selfish thing is Sam the Cat. The agreed upon cultural signifier for Sam is nothing he may ever truly shake. Cat is ingrained in our society.

So it seems certain that cat is the center of Sam’s universe, the sun and its corresponding gravity keep everything in orbit. It is the central thread in the story; without it the story crumples upon itself. It appears safe to say that cat is the differánce, the thread that holds the story’s tapestry together. It’s hard to value what this really means, though. Jacques Derrida coined the phrase and even he admits that differánce is really “neither a word nor a concept” (“Differánce” 933). He continues, though, explaining, it is “the strategic note or connection . . . which indicated the closure of presence, together with the closure of the conceptual order and denomination, a closure that is effected in the functioning of traces” (933). Cat is what holds the order of the story, but when we extract cat, take cat out of the tale and into de Man’s “outside world,” as I previously mentioned, we are left with just a three-letter word that’s so common to us we don’t even bat an eye. Separated from its signified, cat dries up and dissolves. Sam and the story need cat to keep their universe working; just as cat needs Sam and the story so that it can exist. This is the meaning of the story: Sam placing so much emphasis and value on such a simple word and allowing it to become him that he forgets it’s just a word, a sign that people have collectively agreed upon has a certain meaning.

This seemingly arbitrary collection of letters cannot flex enough for Sam to break from it because a force outside of itself has assigned it meaning, a meaning that cannot be separated from the signifier or signified. It’s a paradox. Cat is simple and complex, meaningless and meaningful. Once it, the differánce , is grasped, it disappears.

Such an understanding brings new light to the story and perhaps the most illumination concerning the final line. Again, in the final paragraph, Sam is discussing setting sail and leaving everything he

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

knows behind. In the light of deconstruction and the cultural signifiers we as individuals have no say in defining, Sam can be seen as leaving the cultural vision of cat; he seeks a place where he can begin anew, where he can recreate himself without the signifier cat. Skippy is in tow because cat is part of Sam, yes, that much is true to his history, but Skippy is not entirely Sam. Sam believes he can change. He yearns and searches for a place where he can define the signs and signifiers rather than have them define him. “Maybe out there,” Sam philosophizes, “I’d come across something I could understand” (Klam 28).

Derrida argues, however, that it is impossible for Sam to become anything more than the signified, to shed the cat. “From the moment anyone wishes to show . . . that there is no transcendental or privileged signified and that the domain or interplay of signification has, henceforth, no limit, he ought to extend his refusal to the concept and to the word sign itself—which is precisely what cannot be done” (“Structure” 355).

We cannot deny that the signifier (cat) represents the signified (Sam), and thus we cannot separate all of the negative connotations that create our understanding Sam. As unfair as this may seem, Sam is not just labeled; he is branded, branded by the meaning assigned to the cultural signifier, and thus bears the burden that comes with being the signified.

This all might seem a bit over-the-top for such a little word. Can one man’s struggle for identity be brought down to a something so elemental? Can a story with such a complex, struggling character really come down to forces outside of himself: the meaning attributed to a small three-letter word?

The answer is, unfortunately, yes. “No literary formalism,” de Man argues, “no matter how accurate and enriching in its analytic powers, is ever allowed to come into being without seeming reductive” (365). The fact is that we label everything and once we do, we place great significance in that insignificant combination of pen strokes. De Man also notes, “There can be no dance without a dancer, no sign without a referent” (369). Subconsciously and unintentionally, we

21 bring this on ourselves. We place so much emphasis on specific words, perhaps needlessly or perhaps necessarily, that we can find ourselves adapting to our own creations. At one point in the story, Sam is trying to invite his man-crush out on a date for tacos when suddenly the man realizes what Sam is trying to do. He says, “This isn’t about tacos, is it?” Sam replies, maybe a bit too eagerly, “I could make tacos” (Klam 26). Sam’s offer isn’t about tacos, just like this story is not about cat; it’s ultimately about Sam. This story may come down to cat, but we need to remember that cat is Sam. Cat is the vehicle through which we come to know Sam. Reducing the story to cat allows us to appreciate Sam even more than we could before.

Now the story is no longer just about a man combating his own inner demons; it is about a man taking on everything: his own psyche, the psyches of the collective American public, and a language tradition embedded in a culture spanning hundreds of years. It’s a daunting task and, probably, ultimately impossible. This is why the last line resonates so loudly: “Maybe out there I’d come across something I could understand” (28). It’s a story about looking for a new way to shed the oppressive old, a journey that will most likely yield failure but one that Sam must take any way in a last chance effort to finally love himself.

Through deconstruction and the concept of sign/signifier/signified and differánce, the meaning of “Sam the Cat” is no longer about man’s search for self; it becomes man’s rejection of a language and labels he never agreed to.

It’s about something, perhaps, even more daunting than accepting one’s identity; it’s about accepting one’s identity in the eyes of our world and our culture, a gaze that can never be altered. Sam is our struggle against the signifier in which we’ve never had a voice. It’s an epic struggle cloaked in a darkly funny, sexual romp. It’s a struggle we all will probably undergo, and hopefully we will be more successful than Sam.

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

Works Cited Catdog. “Full Catdog Theme Song.” Youtube. 25 Sept. 2011.

Web. 29 Jan. 2012. de Man, Paul. “Semiology and Rhetoric.” 1973. Keesey, Contexts for Criticism, 364-73.

Derrida, Jacques. “Differánce.”1979. Richter, The Critical Tradition 932-49.

---. “Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences.” 1970. Keesey. Contexts for Criticism 353-63.

Keesey, Donald, ed. Contexts for Criticism. Fourth Edition.

Boston: McGraw Hill, 2003. Print.

Klam, Matthew. “Sam the Cat.” Sam the Cat. New York: Vantage, 2001. 3-28. Print.

Richter, David H., ed. The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends. Third Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007. Print.

Saussure, Ferdinand de. “Nature of the Linguistic Sign.” N.d.

Richter, The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends 842-44.

---. “Binary Oppositions.” N.d. Richter, The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends 84551.

Veblen, Thorstein. The Theory of the Leisure Class. New York: Penguin, 1899. Print.

Eric Horell ('13) is an English major with a Literature concentration and Philosophy minor. He plans to continue his education after graduation, hoping to earn a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and ultimately a Ph.D. in Literature Theory. He is the three-time winner of the Gunard Berry Carlson Writing Contest and placed second in Delta Epsilon Sigma's National Writing Competition.

22

SPECTRUM

3 (1)

23

Contents of SPECTRUM Volumes 1 and 2 Volume 1 Jennifer M. Sabol; Edward J. Timmons: “Long-Term Recession Forecasting Using the Yield Curve” Brittany H. Miller; Laura M. Stibich; Julia H. Moore; Brendon LaBuz: “An Invariant of Metric Spaces Under Bornologous Equivalences” Andrew R. McKee; Arthur Remillard: “Running into the Unknown: The Religious Dimensions of Distance Running”

Volume 2 Issue 1 Abstracts of the First Annual Saint Francis University Research Day

Issue 2 Latitia S. Lattanzio; Robin L. Cadwallader: “Man’s Struggle” Anthony R. Horner; Rose A. Clark; Stephen M. LoRusso; Edward P. Zovinka: “Measuring Potassium in Muscle Tissue Utilizing an Atomic Absorption Spectrometer Validation of an Adaptation for a Whole-body Potassium Counting Method” Lisa M. Moser; Arthur Remillard: “Listening with Compassion: The benefits of storytelling in the health care setting” Ethan L. Hullihen; Timothy W. Bintrim: ”Door 1, 2, or 3? The Monty Hall Problem” KaLynn M. Kline; Heather J. Harteis; Lauren E. McConnell; Janel A. Jesberger; Michele R. Hargittai; Balazs Hargittai: “The influence of multiple prolines on the folding of disulfide rich small peptides”

(Student authors’ names underlined.)

Call for papers Sub m ission G uid elines The purpose of SPECTRUM is not merely to disseminate new results, but also to inform and enlighten.

Our readership is a general and multidisciplinary audience who may not be an expert in your field of study. Consequently, please explain all pertinent concepts essential to understanding your article as well as any concepts that might not be common knowledge. Please submit your file in Microsoft Word format as an attachment to the following email address: spectrum@francis.edu. The text should be single spaced, using 12-point Times New Roman font. Please use italics, rather than underlining, for emphasis.

O r ganiz at ion of M anuscr ip t s SPECTRUM is an interdisciplinary journal accepting submissions from the natural sciences, the humanities as well as the professional schools (health sciences and business), therefore, the structure and style of each manuscript will differ from discipline to discipline. Regardless, all submissions must provide a cover sheet, a thorough introduction of the problem your research addresses, the conclusion(s), result(s) or findings of your research, as well as some form of bibliographic citation. Below are the general guidelines for these requirements, some of which may not apply to your area of research.

C ov er Sheet Title Names and departments of undergraduate researcher(s) and faculty advisor(s) Abstract (200 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 300 words) Six key words Int r od uct ion Include general background of the relevant field and the larger problem your research addresses as well as its relevance within the field. In addition, explain what prompted your investigation, a summary of previous findings related to your research problem and what contributions your project brings (or was expected to bring) to the issue.

M et hod s and M at er ials (If ap p licab le) Summarize important methods and materials used in your research.

R esult s/C onclusions Give detailed report of the results and or conclusions reached through your research.

Discussion Results should be evaluated in the context of general research problem, the implications of which should be explained with conclusions, predictions or suggestions (if applicable) for further study.

T ab les (if ap p licab le) Create tables in Microsoft Word format and insert into general text accompanied by a table legend. Each table needs a number based on its appearance in the paper, where it is referenced.

Figur es (if ap p licab le) Please submit figures at the end of the article, one image per page; we will fit these in as we organize the manuscript. Each figure needs a number (the figures shall be numbered consecutively in the order of their appearance in the paper) and a title. SPECTRUM will be printed black and white, but there will be an online version where figures submitted in color will appear in color.

R efer ences You may use any referencing style you choose so long as it is a standard format or your discipline (IEE, APA, ACS, PubMed) and that you use it consistently and to the appropriate bibliographical standards.