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Irish Identity Politics in James Joyce
Full text linkReading the works of James Joyce poses a question of what constitutes a national identity. My paper examines the different facets of creating an Irish identity, which were rejected by Stephen Dedalus and, by proxy, James Joyce. Examining self and country is one of the main themes in these works. The problem Stephen encounters is the strife between creating a postcolonial identity that either recognizes the effects of the British Empire or dismisses them entirely. Through Stephen’s development, he aligns himself with hybridity, whereas the Irish Nationalists and the Revivalists want to establish an identity stripped of all English influence. Hegel’s process of negation also helps solidify Stephen’s rejection of Ireland\u27s political and religious institutions. Stephen’s journey into self-creation is not complete, but Joyce’s is. I argue that Joyce successfully defines his Irish by his medium, using Hiberno-English and Dublin’s topography to help craft his vision. Though Portrait and Ulysses are my primary texts, I use Dubliners and Joyce’s essays as secondary texts as commentary to help determine how he viewed his Irish identity
The Role of Emotion Dysregulation in Adaptive Functioning Associated with Internalizing Symptoms Among Neurodiverse Youth
Full text linkAdaptive functioning (AF) refers to an individual’s ability to manage daily life demands and maintain personal independence. Deficits in adaptive functioning presents with higher challenges in overall quality of life, resulting in lesser abilities for social relationships, and is often associated with higher levels of internalizing symptoms. Emotion dysregulation (ED) is a key feature of several clinical disorders, can hinder self-care abilities, particularly in the presence of co-occurring internalizing conditions, and is significantly elevated in autistic youth. Given that ED may interfere with daily functioning, understanding how ED impacts AF could help identify intervention targets for neurodiverse youth. This project examines ED and AF in neurodiverse youth experiencing symptoms of internalizing disorders. Parents of twenty youth aged 11 to 17 (M=13.2, SD=1.72 ; 55% male; 70% Caucasian) reported on youth’s emotion dysregulation, adaptive behaviors, and internalizing symptoms. Results showed symptoms of several internalizing disorders were significantly negatively related to adaptive functioning. Mediation analysis assessed ED as a potential mediator between adaptive functioning and internalizing disorders. Emotional reactivity emerged as a full mediator for Separation Anxiety Disorder and a partial mediator for Social Anxiety Disorder in middle and high school age participants. Emotional Dysphoria was a full mediator for Social Anxiety Disorder in middle and high school age participants. Overall, higher severity of internalizing symptoms negatively relates to one’s AF, and poorer AF may be linked to trouble managing emotional reactions but not to overall feelings of sadness or distress. These findings suggest that interventions targeting emotional reactivity, rather than general distress, may be more effective in improving adaptive functioning in individuals with internalizing symptoms
Wired for Degradation: How Post-Translational Control of Inducible cAMP Early Repressor Protein Influences Melanoma Fate
Full text linkMelanoma is a highly aggressive form of skin cancer frequently driven by mutations in the BRAF gene, particularly the BRAFⱽ⁶⁰⁰ᴱ variant, which leads to sustained activation of the MAPK signaling cascade. Recent studies implicate the cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling axis in melanoma progression and therapeutic resistance, highlighting the role of the Inducible cAMP Early Repressor (ICER), a transcriptional antagonist of CREB and CREM. ICER is downregulated during melanomagenesis and subject to post-translational regulation via phosphorylation and ubiquitin-mediated degradation. To investigate ICER’s functional relevance in vivo, e utilized a zebrafish melanoma model harboring brafⱽ⁶⁰⁰ᴱ, tp53−/−, and mitf−/−mutations, in which mitf expression was restored through Tol2-mediated integration of a miniCoopR plasmid. Transgenic lines expressing either wild-type ICER (wtICER), a phosphorylation-deficient, ubiquitin-resistant ICER mutant (S35-41A-ICER), or an EGFP control were generated and monitored for survival and tumor progression. Western blot analysis confirmed that ICER expression is markedly reduced in tumor tissues relative to normal skin of zebrafish, supporting its role as a tumor suppressor. However, survival analysis revealed that wtICER expression paradoxically decreased overall survival and was associated with increased tumor invasiveness. In contrast, the S35-41A-ICER mutant significantly extended survival and reduced tumor malignancy. Histological examination further demonstrated that tumors in the wtICER cohort invaded deep into the musculature, while S35-41A-ICER fish displayed only benign hyperplasia. These findings suggest that ICER’s tumor-suppressive function depends on its post-translational stability and nuclear retention
The Role of Endogenous Estrogen in Effects of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation on Cognitive Performance
Full text linkHigh-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) directly modulates brain activity, allowing the study of brain-behavior relationships in cognitive processes. However, cognitive effects of tDCS vary widely, partly due to individual differences in baseline brain activity. Estrogen levels, which fluctuate during the menstrual cycle, are known to affect cortical excitability and impact neural response to tDCS, but no research to date has examined the potential moderating role of endogenous estrogen in tDCS effects on cognition. In this study, N = 16 healthy female adults completed four sessions of a working memory (WM) task while receiving tDCS (two active sessions, two sham) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during high and low estrogen phases of their menstrual cycles. Since tDCS effects on cognition may vary due to endogenous estrogen levels, and high estrogen has been associated with higher cortical excitability, we hypothesized that tDCS effects on WM performance would be greater during high estrogen phases compared to low estrogen phases. Results showed that estrogen levels did interact with tDCS effects to influence WM performance; however, direction of effects were mixed and also varied by WM load. These results have important implications for the development of future tDCS interventions for female populations and suggest that females may benefit from having stimulation sessions aligned with specific menstrual cycle phases
Three Cat Stories
No full texthttps://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/iapc_picturebook_gallery/1037/thumbnail.jp
Reducing Emissions and Increasing Resource Efficiency in Offshore Wind Turbines: Insight from Life Cycle Analysis
Full text linkGlobally, offshore wind (OSW) has been identified as a key technology for decarbonization. While OSW’s development timeline remains uncertain in the United States, New Jersey has set the ambitious goal of 11 GW by 2040. OSW produces zero carbon emissions; however, it relies heavily on resource-intensive materials like steel, rare earth elements, and copper, and manufacturing those materials have numerous environmental impacts, including carbon emissions. Supply chain disruptions—from COVID-19, rising material costs, and geopolitical challenges—add further complexity. Previous research modelled the environmental impacts of Atlantic Shores OSW South Project with an established domestic supply chain, producing 0.013kg CO2 per kWh. While this is a significant improvement compared to traditional fossil fuel sources, this study highlighted several areas for improvement. Building on previous work, this research explores four scenarios applying more sustainable production practices and materials to reduce the overall impact of OSW: 1. Scenario 1 (S1): Baseline case with steel produced via blast furnace–basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) and a rare earth (RE)-based permanent magnet (PM) generator. 2. Scenario 2 (S2): Steel produced via direct reduced iron–electric arc furnace (DRI-EAF) using natural gas and US grid electricity. 3. Scenario 3 (S3): S2, and replaces the tower steel with glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP) composite and balsa wood. 4. Scenario 4 (S4): S3, and replaces the RE-based PM generator with a ferrite-based PM generator. Results show a clear improvement in sustainability from S1 to S4, with global warming potential reduced by ~55% and mineral resources scarcity by ~75%. Switching steel production from BF-BOF to DRI-EAF cuts emissions by up to 65% and boosts resource efficiency by 70% due to increased scrap steel use. Replacing the steel tower with a GFRP composite yield modest gains in emissions and MRS. The most significant impact comes from switching RE-based magnets to ferrite-based ones, cutting emissions by 85% and nearly eliminating impact to mineral resources. Future turbine designs can leverage LCA not just to enhance sustainability, but also to optimize components for efficient resource use and potential cost savings. As technologies like composite towers and ferrite-based PMs approach commercial readiness, the offer promising opportunities to strengthen the local OSW supply chain
Unlocking value from food waste: A cross-regional meta-analysis of economic opportunities
No full textNumerous studies have evaluated the economic feasibility of transforming various categories of food waste into valuable products (or valorization) like bioenergy or biofertilizers. However, the cost-effectiveness of these transformations across regions remained uncertain. This systematic literature search on six common cost assessment methods on food waste valorization initially yielded 3964 studies. Using PRISMA guidelines, 50 studies were selected for the meta-analysis. The results suggested a moderate baseline effect (g = −1.49, p-value = 0.04) using the Hedges g algorithm, indicating statistically significant economic benefits of valorization than disposal. The Q statistic 11.8 with df = 5 and moderate heterogeneity (I2 = 55 %) indicated modest publication bias. Leave-One-Out and Leave-Two-Out sensitivity analyses confirmed robustness of results despite including diverse valorization methods. An exception, techno-economic analysis (p-value = 0.8, I2 = 0 %) indicated no heterogeneity between valorization and disposal methods. Hence, the cost viability varies with cross-regional economic and technical factors
Predictors of Disordered Eating Among College Students: A Multimodal Approach
Full text linkThis study investigated potential predictors and risk factors of disordered eating behaviors and attitudes among undergraduate college students, addressing the high prevalence of disordered eating on college campuses. The sample consisted of 85 female undergraduate students who completed self-report measures of impulsivity, emotion regulation difficulties, desire for a sense of control, eating disorder behaviors and attitudes, as well as behavioral (Go/No-go task) and physiological (antisaccade task) measures of impulsivity, using food-related stimuli. Correlational, linear regression, and discriminant function analyses revealed significant associations among the self-report independent variables with eating disorder risk. Detailed findings for specific subscales of eating disorder risk, namely Drive for Thinness, Bulimia, and Body Dissatisfaction, are provided. The antisaccade task demonstrated better alignment with self-report endorsements of impulsivity, compared to the Go/No-go task, suggesting its superior adequacy in measuring impulsivity and highlighting potential bias observed in the behavioral measure. The Go/No-go task suggested a distinct pattern of compensatory behaviors and a conservative response style in this non-clinical sample. General limitations associated with performance-based tasks of impulsivity are described. Overall, this study emphasized the importance of employing these accessible self-report measures not only for screening eating disorder risk, but also to allow for more targeted treatment options that address the underlying mechanisms and psychological factors that initiate and perpetuate disordered eating behaviors and attitudes. Clinical implications are also discussed
Unfolding state loss issues in foldable mobile devices
No full textFoldable devices are the latest trend in mobile computing, providing dynamic form factors and versatile screen configurations. Due to the variety in configurations and displays, many popular applications struggle to adapt to foldable devices, resulting in crashes, user interface reconfiguration, inconsistent layout behaviors, and performance degradation during frequent mode transitions. Furthermore, dynamic state changes exacerbate issues related to resource management, memory utilization, and overall application stability. Our research observes and highlights these behaviors by automatically testing 72 apps on Google Play based on app category and user reviews, using Appium, Java, and Test NG platforms. We discover that conventional development frameworks and testing methodologies are often inadequate for addressing state loss in foldable devices
The ones we fail
No full textThe foster care system provides temporary housing solutions for youth endangered by threats to their health and safety. The effectiveness of the system depends on quality legal representation for the children, but there are no uniform standards for such representation. Some states require legal representation; other states leave representation to the discretion of the court. Attorneys representing foster children often have overwhelming caseloads, limited training, and inadequate funding. This inconsistency results in inequitable outcomes. This lack of uniformity disproportionately impacts children from marginalized backgrounds, compounding systemic inequities. What can and should be done to improve the foster care system? This is a complex problem requiring interdisciplinary research to achieve a more comprehensive understanding. Using qualitative research methodology, specifically textual analysis, I analyzed relevant sources from the disciplines of law and social work to identify conflicting insights. Finding common ground between such insights, I used integration to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of the problem which allowed me to suggest solutions to the problem. I have not completed my research. However, I conclude that there should be national standards requiring that every foster child have an attorney appointed to represent them. There should be a federal training program training for attorneys appointed to represent foster children. That program should include trauma-informed and culturally responsive training. More trained attorneys should be hired to reduce case overloads. Adequate funds must be appropriated to support a system of effective legal representation including funds to fairly compensate court-appointed attorneys who represent foster children