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Reading in Place: Ordinary Language Philosophy, Wendell Berry, and Post Critique
No full textThe twenty-first century, marked by neoliberalism and suspicious, visibly violent far-Right politics, has presented new challenges to critical and literary theorists. In response, some theorists advocate for a postcritical turn, challenging both the surface/depth picture of language and the privileged status of suspicion in interpretation in order to explore alternative pictures of language and reading that can better address the challenges of our own day. In this thesis, I connect one of these alternatives, Toril Moi’s use of Ordinary Language Philosophy in literary studies, to Wendell Berry’s prioritization of place in environmentalist activism. In connecting these two thinkers, I contend for ordinary placed reading, or a practice of reading that interprets literature according to the way it intervenes in the critic’s own place of residence, in the natural, social, and agricultural realms. I then analyze Berry’s novel Jayber Crow in order to illustrate how his protagonist, Jayber, exemplifies this mode of reading in his shift from displaced, suspicious reader to a reader embedded in his place and interpreting historical and technological developments according to its consequences for his placed community
A Comparison of Peak Ground Reaction Forces of Pitches From the Stretch and Windup
No full textGround reaction forces can help coaches and players understand the lower extremity biomechanics of pitching in baseball. Research has told us that there are repeatable characteristics of ground reaction forces that pitchers produce during a pitch. This study examines the differences in peak ground reaction forces produced from pitching from the stretch versus pitching from the wind-up. Five variables were recorded for each pitch from the push-off leg and the landing leg. Landing forces were then compared to landing forces of the other pitching style and the same comparison was made for the push-off leg. This was achieved by altering a pitching mound to hold force plates that monitored each leg’s forces. Data was compiled and organized then paired sample t-test were used to find any statistically significant difference between any of the variables. A significant difference was discovered between two variables. Despite the difference found in this study, these variables have little impact on how pitches are viewed because of what the variables represent
Examining the Immune Regulation of NLRP12 Through Novel Protein Interactions
No full textNOD-like receptors (NLRs) are intracellular proteins that play an important role in the regulation of the innate immune response to pathogens. Since being identified, various functions for NOD-like receptor pyrin domain containing 12 (NLRP12) have been suggested. It has been shown to negatively regulate the inflammatory response through canonical and noncanonical NF-kB signaling pathways, control tumorigenesis and gut homeostasis and exacerbate inflammation through the formation of a multi-protein complex called an inflammasome. Due to the varying roles established for NLRP12, the mechanisms by which it functions remain poorly understood. In this study, I sought to confirm a novel protein-protein interaction between NLRP12 and CUL3 to aid in better understanding the mechanisms in which NLRP12 is activated and functions. CUL3 is an E3 ligase involved in the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) that targets proteins for degradation in the 26S proteosome. I found that NLRP12 and CUL3 interact and as a result IL-8 chemokine is downregulated indicative of downregulation of the inflammatory response. Thus, this study provides insight into a possible mechanism that controls NLRP12 function through ubiquitination
Effect of Soil pH and Indigenous Bacterial Populations in Selecting Rhizobial Endophytes Within Soybean Root Nodules
No full textSoybean plants fulfill most of their nitrogen requirement by developing symbiotic associations with four different rhizobial genera, including Bradyrhizobium, Sinorhizobium, Mesorhizobium, and genus Rhizobium. In general, members of Bradyrhizobium and Sinorhizobium have been reported as dominant root nodule endophytes under acidic soils and alkaline soil conditions, respectively. So far, it is unknown whether the selection of rhizobial endophytes is regulated by their ability to survive under different soil pH or driven by host plants regardless of their relative abundance in soil. This study was focused on the assessment of the potential role of soil pH in selecting rhizobial endophytes and determining whether the selection of rhizobial endophytes is controlled by their relative abundance in rhizosphere soil. In a greenhouse study, I inoculated soybean plants with different cell densities of Bradyrhizobium japonicum and Sinorhizobium fredii cultures. Plants were grown under three soil pH conditions. I assessed the distribution of rhizobial endophytes within root nodules and rhizosphere using high-throughput DNA sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons. I observed a high dominance of Bradyrhizobium related sequences in the root nodules of all plants in the greenhouse study. I also observed high abundance of Bradyrhizobium in the root nodules of uninoculated plants suggesting the presence of native Bradyrhizobium population in all three soils. The root nodules of the plants grown under two field conditions (acidic and neutral sites) also showed a high abundance, suggesting the preferred selection of Bradyrhizobium as a soybean endophyte regardless of soil pH or their relative abundance in rhizosphere soil. I detected the presence of DNA sequences related to all rhizobial genera in the rhizosphere soil. I also observed statistically significant differences in plant growth and physiological characteristics. These results helped in identifying that Bradyrhizobium may be a better inoculant for soybean crops under various soil conditions or host genotype
Yes, Baby: Essays
No full textThis creative thesis includes thirteen flash nonfiction pieces and one fiction short story exploring emotions and experiences that have changed who I am today. These writings are personal experiences or are inspired by personal experience. These creative works interrogate deeply transformative events and situations, such as familial relationships, trauma, poverty, living in the Midwest, patriarchy, and the beauty in existing. In the thesis’s critical introduction, I examine how my flash nonfiction pieces employ Milan Kundera’s theory of the appeal of play and Charles Baxter’s concept defamiliarization. I analyze how the succinct form of the flash essay allows my nonfiction writing to reflect the complexities and nature of trauma and memory. I analyze the way my short story employs the narrative mode of magical realism to complicate and deepen meaning through what Jacob Appel identifies as “the grand metaphor.” I analyze these techniques and modes of writing through the published works of Milan Kundera, Charles Baxter, John Gardner, Lidia Yuknavitch, Claudia Rankine, and others
Celebrating Mundane Moments
No full textI feel appreciation for life and recognize the beauty of being present in the moment, not only living for a future goal. I paint moments that highlight shared slices of life that are common throughout many contemporary cultures. The theme of my paintings is to celebrate mundane moments with images living them, regardless of their geographical location. I am pausing the moments representing what appears over and over through life, reminding myself I can enjoy all of them. This body of work slows down to focus on the beauty of a moment’s essence spent with family members or friends and not the main activities scheduled. I allow a degree of ambiguity in the finished work that reveals just enough information to make the picture feel familiar to a viewer. We carry our past within shared experiences, which ultimately allow these scenes to be perceived as a collective memory
Historical Channel Evolution and Human Modifications of Blue River Near Kansas City Missouri
No full textChannel form can respond to changes in flood regime and sediment load caused by land use and climate disturbances. In the eastern United States, widespread soil and vegetation disturbances in the 1800s during agricultural expansion increased runoff rates, flood magnitude and frequency, and sediment loads often causing major changes in channel activity and floodplain sedimentation in local streams. Investigating the historical evolution of a stream channel system including its floodplains can help to advance geomorphological theory and benefit environmental managers. This study documents human impacts on historical changes in channel and floodplain widths since the early to middle 1800s in the Blue River in Kansas City, Missouri compared to a conceptual historical channel evolution model (HCEM) developed from the findings of other studies in the Midwest, U.S.A. The Blue River watershed drains the transitional area between the Ozark Plateaus in Missouri and Central Lowlands in Kansas. It has been affected by a long agricultural history as well as more recent and significant urban-industrial growth. Historical channel changes were assessed by: (i) General Land Office (GLO) surveys from 1826, 1827 and 1836 that describe pre-settlement channel conditions; (ii) Bank-line changes over time using aerial photography since the 1950s; and (iii) Locations, dates, and types of bank stabilization structures and channel modifications. Channel data combined with census data, flood records, soil maps, land use trends, and GLO surveyor notes indicate significant changes in channel width and planform of Blue River. Low-order channels responded to historical hydrological changes through incision and headward network extension. Middle watershed channels generally transitioned from a wide, shallow, multi-threaded planform to a narrower, deeper, single-channel stream. In addition, bank heights and floodplain extent increased by accelerated floodplain deposition of legacy sediment along most of the present-day channel. Lower main channel segments narrowed and possibly aggraded in response to higher sedimentation rates and artificial in-filling of urban land on the valley floor that possibly led to the need for the construction of engineered channel modifications to reduce flood risk since the 1970s
Influence of Cell Cycle on AIM2 Inflammasome Activation
No full textA cell cycle\u27s progression has a significant role in the development of a disease. All the signaling pathways and inflammatory reactions are maintained in a healthy mode if cell cycle checkpoints are precisely regulated and kept in homeostasis. AIM2 inflammasome is a cytoplasmic double-stranded DNA sensor. Upon activation, it elicits an inflammatory reaction with the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β and IL-18 and they are cleaved by the proteases, Caspase-1 from their inactive form. Also, the AIM2 inflammasome helps in regulating cell division and inhibits cell proliferation; thus, leading to a cell death called pyroptosis. Here, I examined the effects of inhibiting the cell cycle on the AIM2 inflammasome. Furthermore, I investigated whether AIM2 gets inactivated or shut down during mitosis. By using immortalized murine macrophages and treating these cells with LPS, DNA, and etoposide, I found that there was a change in AIM2 gene expression. However, there was no significant change in AIM2 protein level or IL-1β levels. My data indicates that mRNA expression is not solely responsible for controlling AIM2 expression and inflammasome activation but also there might be some internal activation such as phosphorylation or post-translational modifications going on
Synthesis, Characterization, and Application of Chitosan Nanoparticles for in Vitro Studies on HeLa Cancer Cells
No full textChitosan is a fibrous substance that is derived from chitin, a natural substance in the shells of crustaceans. It possesses all the necessary qualities for being used as carrier for the transport of drugs and genes into tumor, such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, hydrophilicity, and non-toxicity and cationic in nature. Ionic gelation method was used to synthesize chitosan (CS) nanoparticles (NPs). Ionic gelation is a very benign process chemically that requires mixing a CS aqueous solution with a sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) aqueous solution at room temperature. In addition, a surfactant polyethylene oxide (PEO) alone and a diblock copolymer of PEO and polyglycolic oxide (PPG) were functionalized on the CSNPs for separate samples. The size of the chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) produced range from 9-51 nm for chitosan concentrations of 0.5% W/V, 12-65 nm for chitosan concentrations of 1% W/V, 7-24 nm for 1% W/V with PEO, and 19-49 nm for 1% W/V with PEO-PPG, as determined from TEM analysis. Results suggest that altering the ratio of CS/PEO-PPG and CS/TPP directly affects the nanoparticle size and extent of aggregation in solution. The amorphous to semi-crystalline structure of CSNPs was confirmed using XRD and TEM analysis. According to the XRD results, the CNSPs overall crystallinity decreases with CS concentration. However, adding the diblock copolymer increases the crystallinity of the CSNPs significantly, even at the higher concentration of 1% W/V. Further work was conducted to study the effectiveness of CSNPs as a drug delivery system to treat cervical cancer (HeLa cells). In vitro HeLa cell culture assay tests were made using concentrations containing 1% W/V and 0.25% W/V CSNPs. Due to their best solubility in solution, CSNPs at the lowest concentration of 0.25% W/V are conjectured to have the greater penetration power into HeLa cells. The 0.25% W/V CSNPs, CSNPs + PEO, and CSNPs + PEO + PPG, respectively, had Zeta potentials of 13.32 ± 1.06 mV, 10.77 ± 3.45 mV and 13.70 ± 4.01 mV, indicating some tendency for agglomeration of the NPs in solution. The methoxynitrosulfophenyl-tetrazolium carboxanilide (XTT) assay protocol/viability assay test was used for in vitro research on HeLa cells. When compared to assay results for CS and varying quantities of Gemcitabine, the results were inconclusive for efficacy of CSNPs for cytotoxicity to HeLa cells
Peer Influence on Mental and Physical Health Symptoms: A Network Autocorrelation Model
No full textAdolescent youth are similar to their friends in both personal attributes, such as gender and ethnicity, and exhibited behaviors. However, limited research has analyzed the role of peer influence on physical and mental health symptoms. The current study aimed to address this gap in the literature by investigating the association between friendships and individual health symptoms. A linear network autocorrelation model was used to examine the relation between adolescent friendships, physical health, and mental health symptoms in a sample of 336 seventh grade students from a Midwestern, public middle school. Results from the current study indicate a peer influence effect on physical health symptoms, such that youth are similar to their friends in terms of physical health. There was a negative peer influence effect on mental health symptoms suggesting that youth may be less similar to their friends in terms of mental health. However, this effect was only true for female friends. The findings support a peer influence effect on adolescent health and well-being. Implications of these results are presented in further detail