18054 research outputs found
Sort by
The G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) FSHR-1 and the SPHK-1 lipid kinase regulate C. elegans life- and healthspans via a common pathway
Get PDFLater years of life are often characterized by reduced cognitive function and mobility. One contributor is the cellular accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), but our understanding of how cells respond to ROS to promote health and survival is incomplete. Follicle stimulating hormone receptor-1 (FSHR-1) and sphingosine kinase-1 (SPHK-1) mediate responses to oxidative stress and regulate life history traits in the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans. The genes encoding both proteins are conserved in humans where they are implicated in stress responses, cell survival and neuronal function. fshr-1 and sphk-1 work together to mediate responses to intestinal oxidative stress in C. elegans. Whether these genes also work in a common pathway to control lifespan or healthspan is unknown. Previous studies indicated potential phenotypic differences in life history traits based on the worms’ bacterial food source. The typical source, OP50 E. coli, is pathogenic compared to the HB101 strain. I hypothesized differences in pathogenicity between the two strains cause decreased lifespan and locomotion through oxidative stress effects that may differentially affect the mutants. Here I show sphk-1 and fshr-1 are required for normal life- and healthspan in C. elegans. I found significant reductions in mutant lifespans on both lawns versus wild type worms, but no differences within genotype across food. fshr-1, sphk-1, and double mutants had decreased swimming rates compared to wild type worms at all timepoints, but no significant difference in motor decline over time between the genotypes. This suggests the genes may not act in a timed manner to regulate accumulation of oxidative stress. I also saw non-additive effects for the genes on both lifespan and healthspan, as double mutants showed phenotypes equal to single mutants, indicating fshr-1 and sphk-1 work in a single pathway to mediate life- and healthspan. Lawn pathogenicity levels do not affect lifespan in the mutants, suggesting the potential decrease in innate immunity does not make the worms susceptible to increased OP50 pathogenicity. These data provide evidence of a common genetic pathway between sphk-1 and fshr-1 during aging, consistent with their known roles in oxidative stress mediation. Furthermore, recent overexpression experiments indicate the sufficiency of fshr-1 in increasing the mobility of the worms across the lifespan when expressed in either glial or intestinal cells. Further studies will continue exploring these pathways
The Jubilant City Almanac: Stories
Get PDFThe Jubilant City Almanac is a collection of short stories set in the magical Jubilant City, a city founded by a group of Black women in 1736. These stories bridge the whimsical and magical with the realities of poverty, classicism, addiction, abuse and health disparities. “Got His Alligator” follows the journey of two codependent addicts as they try to get their fashion designs onto Jubilant City’s premiere drama, Girl, Please. The characters in “Carbon Copy” use a magical phone to bring Denzel Washington to the city. “Jeremiah the Conqueror” summons Black American folk legend, High John. THrough an exploration of magical realism and speculative fiction, The Jubilant City Almanac tells the stories of Black families and Black complexity
Great Lakes Leviathan
Get PDFGreat Lakes Leviathan is a work for Piano and Large Chamber Orchestra that takes its main source of inspiration from cryptozoological reports of sea creatures; particularly those found within the midwestern region of the United States. This work develops over the course of four movements.
In the opening movement and in the thalassic finale, entitled The Rising Deep and Great Lakes Leviathan respectively, the listener will experience sound worlds imitating tumultuous waters, majesty, chaos, and an encounter with the aforementioned Leviathan itself. The second movement, The Fossil Finder, explores themes of excavation, research, and course charting. The third movement, Eventide, reflects upon narratives of exploration, maiden voyage, expanding horizons, and evening twilight
Ecstasy and Anguish: The Mystical Encounters of Ramakrishna and Therese of Lisieux
Get PDFMYSTICAL experiences have been reported by both Hindu and Catholic religious figures. Hindu saint Ramakrishna and Catholic saint Thérèse of Lisieux are two such figures whose lives were dominated by direct, intimate encounters with the divine. Their encounters with Jesus, Mary, and Kālī frequently vacillated between states of ecstasy and anguish. Yet, while modern sensibilities may highlight the psychopathology of these emotional states, it is clear that these experiences had profound advantages for each saint’s spiritual life. Ultimately, interpreting these intimate encounters through the spiritual lives and traditions of the saints themselves can help Hindu and Christian scholars expand their understanding of the human experience of the divine beyond the confines of ritual and dogma
Toward an Alternative Theology: Confessions of a Non-Dualist Christian: Sara Grant, R.C.S.J.’s Distinctive Contribution to Catholic Theological and Spiritual Encounter with Hinduism
Get PDFTHIS article examines the contribution made by Sr Sara Grant R.C.S.J. to modern Christian engagement with Advaita Vedānta. It considers her own spiritual journey which led her to find in Advaita Vedānta a suitable way of expressing a non-dualist form of Christianity and how, in pursuit of this, she engaged both theologically with Advaita, like Richard de Smet S.J., and spiritually with Advaita like Swami Abhishiktandana. The article argues that her distinctive contribution to modern Christian engagement with Advaita Vedānta lies precisely in the fact that she was able to combine a theological with a spiritual encounter, which neither de Smet SJ nor Swami Abhishiktananda managed
