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AP.059 Isa Bey Camii
The oldest active mosque in Turkey, Isa Bey dates from the late fourteenth century and draws upon Syrian architectural styles.https://digital.kenyon.edu/baly/1511/thumbnail.jp
AP.065 Ilyas Bey Camii
The iwan-portal that forms the entrance to the Ilyas Bey Mosque, as seen from within its courtyard. It consists primarily of an arcade divided into three flat-top (Bursa) arches, which is supported by two marble columns. Of the three arches, the wider, central one houses the entrance, while the other two contain marble balustrades and serve as windows. The tympana of the latter two arches are decorated with floral and geometric motifs.https://digital.kenyon.edu/baly/1517/thumbnail.jp
AP.064 Ilyas Bey Camii
The Ilyas Bey Mosque, located in the renowned archaeological site of Miletos (ancient Ionian city), the present-day town of Balat, Aydin province, Turkeyhttps://digital.kenyon.edu/baly/1516/thumbnail.jp
Identification of Novel Multidrug Resistance Breakers in Escherichia coli K-12
Resistance breakers are drugs that decrease intrinsic antibiotic resistance of bacteria. While some resistance breakers (e.g. clavulanic acid) have been effective clinically, no drugs have been developed that target multidrug efflux pumps. These pumps are the frontline defense mechanisms of gram-negative bacteria to diverse antibiotics. To develop resistance breakers against efflux pumps, we must know the conditions that contribute to pump selection. Almost all bacterial efflux pumps are powered by PMF. Therefore, we are particularly interested in how conditions that alter PMF might contribute to pump selection, such as transient low pH exposure or the presence of antimicrobial food molecules (e.g. salicylate). We performed competition assays in which co-cultured Escherichia coli K-12 strains possessing or lacking a given pump complex were monitored using flow cytometry. We show how the PMF-dependent pumps AcrAB-TolC, MdtEF-TolC, and EmrAB-TolC undergo selection at low pH and in the presence of membrane-permeant phytochemicals. All three pumps showed negative selection under conditions that deplete PMF (pH 5.5 with CCCP, or at pH 8.0). The lipophilic weak acid salicylate selected against AcrA at pH 5.5. Nonetheless, selection against AcrAB-TolC did not correlate with the capacity of molecules to deplete ΔpH. Surprisingly, the lipophilic non-acidic molecules methyl salicylate and salicylamide selected against AcrA. Molecule lipophilicity (as indicated by logP) showed a strong negative correlation with AcrA selection. Molecule lipophilicity could be important because efflux pumps typically bind substrates embedded within the inner membrane. We hypothesize that lipophilic molecules may interact with the substrate-binding pocket of efflux pumps and inhibit efflux. Salicylate has often been considered a promising resistance breaker candidate because it selects against AcrA. However, other work has shown that salicylate can induce drug resistance regulons. Thus, we considered possible roles for the pumps MdtEF-TolC and EmrAB-TolC, both of which function to alleviate cytoplasmic acid stress. When treated with salicylate or benzoate, the fitness contribution for each pump was positive. However, all lipophilic non-acids showed negative or neutral selection effects. Thus, lipophilic non-acids appear to avoid off-target positive selection for efflux pumps. Finally, we demonstrated that salicylamide and methyl salicylate do not increase the minimum inhibitory concentration of E. coli to various antibiotics. Our results suggest that lipophilic non-acidic molecules could be promising resistance breaker candidates to select against a major efflux pump without inducing antibiotic resistance regulons
Cartography between Ptolemaic Accuracy and Scope for Communication: The ‘Genoese World Map’ Dated 1457
Authenticity Under Review: How Well Does GenAI Write College Admissions Essays?
With nearly 30% of people ages 14-22 reporting frequent AI use, increasing AI assistance in college admissions essays poses a new consideration with ethical AI use (Rubin et al., 2024). This study investigates how well three generative AI models write college admissions essays: ChatGPT o3, Gemini 2.5 Pro, and Grok. Each model responded to a Common App 2025-2026 application prompt as three distinct applicants: Elijah, Grace, and Malik (Common App, 2025). Each student represented a common college applicant archetype: Elijah, an academically successful dual sports recruit; Grace, a near-perfect award-winning scholar; and Malik, a gifted student from an underrepresented background. Claude’s 3.7 Sonnet was modeled as an experienced admissions officer and followed a strict, eight-part grading rubric. Results showed apparent performance differences across models and character types, with ChatGPT consistently outperforming the other models. Malik’s profile produced the strongest essays across all models, while Elijah’s essay showed consistent weaknesses in grading criteria. These findings raise important questions about AI’s ability to replicate authenticity and its implications for admissions equity
Kenyon Collegian - April 10, 2025
https://digital.kenyon.edu/collegian/3656/thumbnail.jp
To Tether a Floating Woman: Chicana Theory, Fiction, Memoir, and Poetry in the Borderlands
My thesis aims to embody the hybridity of the theory, poetics, and women of the U.S. Borderlands in the close reading of Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s short story collection Sabrina and Corina (2019), Sandra Cisneros’ memoir A House of My Own (2015) and my own creative productions as they converse and are inspired by foundational Chicana texts such as Gloria Anzaldúa’s Borderlands/La Frontera (1989) and her anthology with Cherríe Moraga This Bridge Called My Back (1981). I seek to embody the hybridity of the literary field in the very structure of my thesis by crossing and moving my writing across and between genres such as literary analysis, essay and poetry. Specifically in my creation of the “floating woman” figure, I use this embodiment of transtemporal consciousness as a link from the feminist theory of Chicana writers such as Gloria Anzaldúa, Cherríe Moraga, and Norma Alarcón to the battered bodies of the contemporary Borderlands. I seek to closely read the spiraling effects of migration as they surface in the generational trauma and systemic violence as exerted on the women of Fajardo-Anstine’s stories. I bridge the conversation of a fictionalized Borderland in chapter one and my own creative productions in chapter three with an exploratory essay of Sandra Cisneros’ memoir as it exemplifies and bends the form of contemporary Chicana autobiography. Finally, I hope to illuminate the reality of the doubled consciousness in Chicana identities by crafting my own poetic and photographic documentation of my Chicagoan Borderland and the cultural dichotomies experienced by my immigrant family in homesickness, memory and grief
Over, Under, Through
This micro-collection of three short stories was first conceived as an exploration of desire. What does it mean to desire when we live in a world where everything is at our fingertips? Is there still a place for it in our lives, and if so, what is that place? This line of questioning evolved, however, into an interrogation of overconsumption. Within their narratives, each of my characters navigates interpersonal relationships which have been strained by the day to day influences of contemporary American capitalism. I explore themes of love—parental, platonic, and self-directed—and isolation versus connection. My anxieties regarding overconsumption affect how I engage with those around me, even or especially those whom I love the most. My characters reflect different avenues of those anxieties—hopeful, pessimistic, and the gray territory between. This project ultimately aims to develop realistic and empathetic portrayals of contemporary Americans living with and handling the myriad consequences of overconsumption in their own lives
Let’s Teach More Accurate and Inclusive History! The Case of Islamic Contributions to Mathematics and Science
Schools commonly teach a history of mathematics and science that is Eurocentric. This selective version of the history of science, called Classical Narrative by some, is rooted in colonial times and mindset, and has reinforced certain negative opinions about other cultures. It ignores or downplays contributions to mathematics and sciences from non-western civilizations, and falsely attributes many scientific discoveries to European scholars. Medieval Islamic Civilization, which had strong connections to Renaissance Europe, serves as a clear example of how this narrative is distorted. Based on research on primary sources since the middle of the 20th century, we now know that some of the most fundamental notions of modern mathematics and science come from the medieval Islamic Civilization. Moreover, modern researchers also discovered that Islamic science was influential on Renaissance scholars. However, these facts are generally not known and there is a significant disconnect between the most accurate academic knowledge on the subject and what is being taught, or not taught in schools. Despite the passage of many decades, accurate knowledge based on primary source research has not become common knowledge or part of the school curricula. Based on my personal journey into the field, academic research on primary sources, and discovery of a global story, I draw attention to what needs to be done in this area, and invite the larger community to help develop strategies to contribute to efforts to decolonize the curriculu