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Jewish Revenge in Postwar Vienna
No full textThe return movement of Jewish Holocaust survivors to Austria after the Second World War has so far primarily been studied under the primacy of the country’s collective refusal to address its complicity in the crimes of Nazi Germany. It has been assumed that Jewish returnees did not actively confront former Nazi perpetrators and profiteers of the regime when they came back to Vienna after 1945 because Austria shielded itself from culpability for Nazi crimes under the “First Victim” myth. However, by drawing on a theoretical framework of a history of emotions, the following thesis demonstrates that Jewish survivors in postwar Vienna used revenge and revenge fantasies as a coping mechanism to grapple with trauma and the fact that a majority of perpetrators did not have to face punishment for the crimes they had committed against Jews. Through the discussion of two interviews with Holocaust survivors and their respective experiences in Vienna after the war, the following thesis shows that revenge played an important role in Jewish returnees’ reclaiming of their home and confrontations with perpetrators in Austria’s Second Republic
Stress Memory of Wheat After One-Generation Exposure to Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS)
No full textThe generational exposures of plants to contaminants are real in the environment, however, there is limited understanding of the pattern of the response. In this study, harvested seeds of wheat planted in soil amended with PFOS at 0 and 25 mg/kg were cultivated in clean soil to produce daughter plants. The treatment combinations were 0-0 mg/kg and 25-0 mg/kg, which means 0 or 25 mg/kg PFOS treatments in the first generation and only 0 mg/kg PFOS in the second generation. Plant stress and responses including plant growth and biomass, chlorophyll content, lipid peroxidation, and enzyme activity were measured at short exposure period (21 days growth period). Plant biomass yields, elemental concentration, and grain metabolomics were also measured at long exposure period (92 days growth period). The daughter plants exhibited decreased chlorophyll content and lipid peroxidation at short exposure period. The elemental concentrations were mostly not affected except for changes in micro-elements Cu and B. For the metabolomics analysis, several metabolites showed changes in second-generation grains compared to first-generation grains. However, only the chlorophyll content and two-grain metabolites (linolenic acid and malonic acid) showed changes relative to control like those recorded in the first-generation study. Literature reports on transgenerational stress memory in plants indicate that some phenotypic changes can be silenced or transferred to future generations. However, increases in sucrose, linolenic acid, tryptophan, inositol-4-monophosphate, and ferulic acid suggest adaptation to former stress. Current findings seem to suggest that one-generation exposure to PFOS does not cause detrimental effects on the next generation after cessation of exposure. Overall, results from this study provide insights into the effects of generational exposures of plants to PFOS
Investigating the Structural Properties of LiCoO2 Through Annealing in a Reducing Atmosphere and Characterization Using Raman Spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction
No full textThe electrochemical performance of lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries is strongly influenced by their structural and chemical characteristics. Annealing in a reducing atmosphere is able to modify the crystal structure of LiCoO2 by inducing oxygen vacancies, ideally enhancing its electrochemical performance. This master\u27s thesis presents an investigation into the effects of low to mid-range annealing temperatures in a reducing atmosphere on bulk LiCoO2 powder, utilizing Raman spectroscopy and X-ray Diffraction (XRD)
Synthesis and Characterization of Cage-Structured Compounds as Promising Thermoelectric Materials
No full textThe development of new thermoelectric materials is of great interest due to their potential to convert waste heat into useful electricity. The primary problem is that the physical factors that are utilized to assess thermoelectric performance conflict with one another. One way to improve their performance is to hinder the lattice from conducting heat through its vibrations while maintaining the heat conduction via the electrons. This can be done by creating cage structures that allow heavy atoms to jiggle. In this study, we report the synthesis of a group of such compounds, using the self-flux method. They all belong to the MM’2Zn20 family where the transition metals (M and M’) are inside Zn-formed cages. The synthesized crystals were characterized using electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD). Additionally, magnetic measurements were performed to investigate the magnetic properties. Future plans include optimization of growth parameters to grow larger crystals for thermoelectric measurements
Uninvited Guests in the Backyard: Dangers and Risks of Terrorist and Anti-American Activity in Latin America
No full textThe international security environment has changed. In the last two decades, new challengers to the American liberal order arose, with China being the most defiant one, in political and military terms. Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative opened the doors to these extra-continental powers, as their loans provided an alternative source of funding for Latin America, walking these countries away from American-led lending institutions. In this new context, Latin America becomes a desirable piece of land in which these new challengers can safely create trade routes while decreasing American influence. Russia and Iran also want to project power in America’s backyard. Furthermore, the presence of terrorist organizations, such as Hezbollah, and their relationship with criminal organizations, such as guerrilla groups and cartels, also pose a severe threat to these countries and the United States. Finally, the possible prospect of conflict with China, Russia, or Iran makes this continent vital for their interests in undermining America’s safety through its southern border. For these reasons, this thesis tries to address these challenges, while assessing several courses of action the United States can take to block them and keep America safe
Understanding and Advancing College Students\u27 Mathematical Reasoning Using Collaborative Argumentation
No full textThis study explored students’ mathematical reasoning skills and offered supports to advance them through a collaborative argumentation framework in a college intermediate algebra class. The goals of this study were to make observations about student reasoning, identify specific actions to address those observations, and document student growth in reasoning as a result of those actions. An iterative analysis, mixed method study was conducted in which the researcher engaged students in responding to questions that required conceptual understandings using a collaborative argumentation framework as a tool to identify and code components of their responses—claim, evidence, and reasoning. After coding and analyzing students’ responses and evaluating themes from the researcher’s observations, the results increased the researcher’s understandings of students’ reasoning and indicated an advancement in conceptual understandings, pattern exploration strategies, and written mathematical arguments. By following the instructional guidelines and workshops of the collaborative argumentation framework, the frequency of reasoning and quality of evidence in students’ responses increased. Additionally, observations indicated advancements from procedural to conceptual understandings, recognizing and systematically exploring patterns, and communicating arguments in a cohesive manner. The researcher also identified challenges of getting students to use generalized reasoning strategies and creating enough class time for effective and thorough feedback and reflection
Grit, Efficacy, Commitment and Career Planning
No full textThis current study advanced understanding of the career goal-setting and relevant goal-related attitudes to the career planning process. Specifically, this study evaluated how career goal commitment, career goal self-efficacy and grit affect career goal structures and effort. A multidimensional career goal commitment scale was developed to differentiate intrinsic (affective) from rational types of commitments. Findings supported affective career goal commitment as consequential to the completeness of career goal structures and in career-relevant effort. Also, career goal self-efficacy was found to predict career planners’ self-efficacy for shorter term performance
Defect State Study and Surface Patching in ZnO Nanoparticles via Nano- Bio Interaction With DNA Bases
No full textFirst, this thesis investigates the structural and optical properties of hydrothermally synthesized ZnO nanostructures, focusing on the effects of varying annealing temperatures on their properties. Structural characterizations using micro-Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and morphological study called scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) show changes in crystallinity and intensity with different annealing temperatures. Optoelectronic characterization using photoluminescence spectroscopy reveals changes in luminescence properties near the ultraviolet region with temperature variation and in the visible emission area region. These results provide insights into how annealing temperature can affect the surface layer of ZnO nanostructures and can be applied to improve performance in electronic and photonic devices.
Secondly, this study also involved in discussing the importance of understanding the interaction between engineered nanostructures and biomolecules for the development of advanced biosensors and biomolecular targets. It focuses on to investigate the molecular level interaction between highly Raman and PL active ZnO nanostructures with varying annealing temperatures and cytosine, one of the four DNA bases using characterization techniques such as XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM and EDS. Raman spectroscopy proves informative in probing the bonding characteristics at the nano-bio interface and can be used for other nano-bio interactions. The study\u27s findings can contribute to the development of novel nanomaterials for drug delivery or biosensors, allowing more insightful decisions regarding interaction kinetics in structurally related nano-bio conjugates
Morphological and Genetic Analysis of the Root System in Two American Grapevines (Vitis Species)
No full textThe North American grapes species Vitis rupestris Scheele and Vitis riparia Michx have been the pillars of rootstock breeding for many decades. Though a large body of viticultural knowledge has been accumulated on their impact on grafted scions, the genetic basis of their root system architecture (RSA) has received limited scientific attention. In this study, I generated and analyzed adventitious root systems from dormant cuttings of 22 V. riparia and 19 V. rupestris accessions, as well as 162 interspecific F1 hybrid progeny from a cross between V. rupestris (♀) and V. riparia (♂). I photographed the roots and then extracted 23 traits of the RSA from 2-D images using the software RhizoVision Explorer. Principal component analysis (PCA) of seven uncorrelated root traits of the V. riparia and V. rupestris accessions showed that PC1 explained 57% of the phenotypic variance and arranged the two species into partially overlapping but clearly separate clusters. T-test results demonstrated greater mean for width (p = 0.00005), depth (p = 0.002), perimeter (p = 0.002), lower root area (p = 0.005), number of roots (p = 0.0001), and total root length (p = 0.002) in V. riparia, indicating that the overall size of the root system in this species tends to be greater than that in V. rupestris. Using a genotype-by-sequencing (GBS) marker-based integrated linkage map and a V. rupestris X V. riparia F1 progeny, I performed quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis on 23 root traits. All significant loci were mapped to chromosome 10. A maternal QTL, which mapped to marker S10_4125692 at 21.1 cM, influenced several traits at p
Quantitative Song Variety in Relation to Genotype in a Hybridizing Chickadee Population
No full textThe Black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) and Carolina chickadee (P. carolinensis) are North American songbird species that hybridize in a narrow contact zone stretching latitudinally from New Jersey to Kansas, USA. The association between genetic ancestry and song type in this hybrid zone has been studied independently several times and found to be minimal or absent, likely due to the influence of cultural transmission on learned song in the oscine passerine clade to which the chickadees belong. Despite this, the song of both species remains remarkably distinct in allopatry, suggesting a genetic constraint on certain qualities of their broadly learned song. I conducted genetic and acoustic sampling in a small population of chickadees in the hybrid zone in western Missouri to address the question of whether song is related to genotype from a different angle than has been taken previously. I first genotyped 55 chickadees from hybrid zone, Black-capped, and Carolina populations in Missouri and Kansas to assess the local applicability of a commonly-used genotyping method for these species, and to generate genotype scores for Missouri hybrid zone chickadees. Using active recording methods, I then obtained high-volume, high-quality recordings of songs of 10 genotyped chickadees from one hybrid zone population. I used these data to generate multivariate measurements of song variety across three different dimensions for each individual. I tested how well, and in what direction, genetic ancestry predicted song variety for each of these dimensions, predicting that song variety would increase with increasing Carolina chickadee ancestry. Linear models predicting song variety in 2 and 3 dimensions from genetic ancestry had poor fit to the data, but slope values in the predicted direction. The linear model predicting song variety in 1 dimension, similar to measurements used to characterize song phenotypes in past studies, had the worst fit to the data and a slope value near 0. These results, while not conclusive enough to confidently suggest a role of genetic ancestry in song variety, provide support for the continued use of these novel multidimensional song variety measurements and offer future directions for tackling the question of the ancestry-song relationship in the chickadee hybrid zone