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Pharmacological Effects of Neurotransmitters on Earthworm Gut Motility
No full textEarthworm gut and mammalian smooth muscle motility can be modulated by neurotransmitters, making the earthworm a useful model to study the pharmacological effects of different neurotransmitters. Research has shown that the earthworm gut is particularly sensitive to the effects of acetylcholine (ACh) (Wu, 1939). This present study investigated the relative influences of ACh, epinephrine, and serotonin (5-HT) on gut motility. The experimental conditions included saline, ACh + epinephrine, and ACh + 5-HT. When exposed to ACh + epinephrine, it was predicted that the gut would show slight excitation, demonstrated through increased contraction frequency and amplitude. It was predicted that 5-HT would be more inhibitory than epinephrine because of the evolutionary importance assigned to its function as a monoamine involved in central nervous system development (Turlejski, 1996).
Our data only included one replication of frequency counts, so no statistical analysis could be run for this measure. However, the frequency value for the ACh + epinephrine condition was larger than those of the other two conditions, suggesting that the excitatory effect of ACh on gut motility was greater than the inhibitory effect of epinephrine. The ACh + 5-HT condition had a decreased contraction force compared to the other two groups as seen in a change in mN (amplitude), suggesting that 5-HT has a strong inhibitory effect on gut motility even when combined with the excitatory neurotransmitter ACh. Our data provided preliminary support for both of our hypotheses. Future research should use a larger sample size and combine epinephrine and ACh at differing concentrations to quantify the magnitude at which ACh is more influential than epinephrine
Locus Iste: Sacred Space as Sacrament
Get PDFThe church often values church buildings simply in terms of their functionality, yet some individuals go beyond this and treat buildings as in some way inherently sacred. This thesis explores the possibilities of understanding church buildings as sacred space and as sacrament in their own right.
Initially I explore some aesthetic and theological ways that the evaluation of sacred space exceeds functionality. Secondly, I both critique and draw on the most significant publication exploring sacred space, Spiritus Loci by Bert Daelemans S.J. This work leads to exploring the helpful concept of “saturated phenomenon” advanced by Jean-Luc Marion. Finally, in order to locate this thesis in the broader conversation about sacrament, I consider the concept of sacrament in two writers, David Brown and Louis-Marie Chauvet. With the assistance of these writers I consider the possibility of sacred spaces being considered as sacrament. I conclude that it is, indeed, appropriate to consider sacred spaces as exceeding functional evaluation and as sacraments in their own right.Professor John Baldovin S.J
Variants of Glucagon-like Peptide 1 Receptor Modify Intracellular Signaling
Get PDFGlucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a peptide hormone that is mostly produced in the intestinal epithelial endocrine cells and released in response to food intake. The actions of this hormone include stimulating insulin secretion, inhibiting glucagon secretion and gastrointestinal motility, regulating appetite and providing protection from inflammation and other forms of cellular stress. Due to these functions, its receptor, known as the GLP-1 receptor (GLP1R), has gained attention as an effective therapeutic target for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Recent studies have shown that a low-frequency missense variant of the GLP1R gene encoding a receptor with an amino acid change, A316T, is associated with reduced risk of obesity comorbidities, coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes. We will determine if the GLP1R variant with an A316T-substitution has an intracellular signaling bias, coupling uniquely to downstream signaling pathways to promote the associated beneficial health outcomes. We will express GLP1R or the A316T variant in a specialized form of HEK-293 cells derived from human embryonic kidney and treat these GLP1R expressing cells with GLP-1R agonists to study differences between the GLP1R receptor and its variant. Through Western blot analysis, we plan to assess the activation of downstream transcription factors to develop the mechanism of action of the GLP1R variant, A316T. These findings will enable us to understand the cytoprotective pathways associated with GLP-1R, which may lead to reduced risk of coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes.V-SURE and Niswender Laboratory (Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
Traditional and Redefined Success of the Janissary Corps
No full textIf you were an Austrian, Hungarian, Venetian, or frankly any soldier fighting during the fifteenth to seventeenth century, there were few enemies you would fear facing more than the Ottoman Janissary. The Janissaries Corps was the elite fighting force of the Ottoman Empire from the mid fourteenth century until their abolishment in 1826. The corps played a central role in the expansion and success of the Ottoman Empire. One of the most important empires to have existed, lasting from 1299 until 1918, and held territories throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, and Europe. The vastness and power of this empire influenced religion, politics, warfare, statehood, and many more aspects of history that have had far reaching impacts into the world in which we live today. The backbone of the empire was its Janissary corps. In this project I have sought out to understand what made the Janissary corps so successful throughout its 500-year history. Scholars agree that the Janissaries were successful militarily until around the siege of Vienna in 1683, but many attest the Janissaries were in a steady decline after that. My thesis is broken into two parts, the first part attempts to understand what made the Janissaries successful until the 1600’s, analyzing aspects such as assimilation, military technology, and social mobility. The second part of my thesis attempts to counter the idea that the Janissary corps was in a decline by redefining what success meant to them. Instead of looking at the battlefield, I study the economic and social impacts of the corps that we can consider successful. My scholarship is based on a variety of primary and secondary sources. My primary sources include memoirs of Janissary soldiers, diplomats who lived in the Ottoman empire, images, and more from different time periods and perspectives. My secondary sources are a mixture of books and articles that are part of the larger historical conversation that is going on about the Janissary corps, a conversation I have tried to engage with.Professor Nicholas Robert
"How Does a Player's Draft Position and Compensation Affect Rookie Performance in the NFL?" An Economic Analysis of the Various Factors That Directly Influence Player Performance
Get PDFWe analyze the impact of draft status and rookie contract value on ranked performance for NFL rookies in their first season. Examining the position groups: quarterbacks, wide receivers, and defensive-backs/corner-backs, we include factors such as draft status, team rankings, honors received, and players’ positional statistics within the model. Through four separate regressions, we aim to find the effects of each factor on the success of the rookies. Our results have proven that aspects such as team ranking illustrate that players who are drafted by worse teams will receive better positional rankings than rookies on better teams. In addition, our pick variable from our first regression shows that players taken later in the draft, will generally earn a worse ranking than those taken earlier. That said, our results from later regressions illustrate that pick is only statistically significant for wide receivers. All things considered, our results demonstrate that rookie season ranking for all three position groups is greatly impacted by player compensation and draft status.Professor Aaron Elro
Black Soldier Fly Larvae as a Compost Accelerant
Get PDFBlack Soldier Fly Larvae as a Compost Accelerant
Greta Flaig
Hemetia illucens, Black soldier fly (BSF), are flies native to Tennessee that can be utilized in a closed-loop, compost accelerant system. In the summer of 2019 The University Farm successfully implemented and ran a BSF system The goal was to create a sustainable system where food waste is more quickly broken down and converted into compost. Another major goal was to test viability of the system itself. This type of system is generally unknown and understudied. This means that there is little previous research done and the system implemented at the University Farm is somewhat based on trial and error.
We also wanted to understand the true capacity of the system and how much compost could be used weekly. In the end we wished to Increase the amount of compost collected by the University Farm from McClurg dining hall and Sterling's’ Coffee House. To collect the data and configure the system, we went and picked up food waste from McClurg and Stirlings’ Coffee House. Then, we brought the food waste back to the farm and sorted through it. We removed most dairy and then filled two five gallon buckets with the food waste. This would then be equally distributed among the larvae in feeding bins. This process would be repeated daily, the older larvae would then eventually begin to consume at a faster rate and need to be given an increased amount of food waste. It was made apparent through the BSF system that much more research needs to be done. The concept is still in its early building phases. In order to grow the system and work at a higher capacity, there needs to be an improvement of the facilities in which the system is located. Looking forward, there is ample room for growth. As the system grows it will gain the ability to make a sufficient impact on the food waste intake that the University Farm is able to manage.Faculty Advisors: Scott Torreano (Forestry Department), Carolyn Hoagland (Offices of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability) Deborah McGrath (Biology Department
The Impact of Immigration on Employment
Get PDFThis paper examines the economic impact of Hispanic immigration on two major metropolitan areas: Miami and Los Angeles. More specifically, I examine the effect of Hispanic immigrants on the employment of African American citizens with similar backgrounds in those areas. Miami and Los Angeles have been facing Hispanic immigrant influx for decades without major economic adjustments on the economy. Many researchers discuss that the reasons for immigrants focusing on certain areas are due to the language barriers being mitigated, which makes settling for them easier (Mason, 2016). In determining the impact of Hispanic immigration in these areas, I control for relevant factors such as wages, unemployment, crime rates, gender, age, experience, and education. Using pooled cross-sectional data, I find that the wages of Hispanic immigrants are lower than the African American citizens’ in these areas, therefore they are not perfect substitutes for each other.Professor Aaron Elro
When Can I Go Home? A Dramatic Nonfiction in Three Acts
No full textAn autobiography, presented in dramatic form, combining elements of stage play, audiovisual exhibit and stem lecture.
Disembodied, prerecorded character voices and video-based scenery and text are inbuilt, to enrich the experience of the story’s themes in a theater setting, as well as to limit cast and venue size. As it appears in print. When Can I Co Home? is equal parts atypically structured nonfiction and augmented play script. These parts overlap most noticeably in, for example, the irregular use of stage directions.
The narration in this work is done through multiple incarnations of the main character at different ages, guided by their present-day self, identified as Bley. These characters interact with each other, with other characters, and, to an extent, with a hypothetical audience. Bley's presence remains essentially constant. The implication—of an ongoing and literal dialogue with his past, punctuated by inclusion in the scenery of a laptop computer on a desk behind which Bley is often sitting—is that he is combing through and writing his life story piece by piece, publicly, with assistance from and in the company of his predecessors. Together, they lay bare years of unsavory personal details; Reflection and self-examination are frequently involved. When Can I Co Home? is not solipsistic, however. Its psychological and social themes are broadly applicable and, with the exception of the six-year-old version of Bley, each of the narrators understands this. As much as Bley appears to need the autobiographical task completed for his own peace of mind, he takes full advantage of his access to a captive audience—to force them to recognize the Bleys in their own lives. The frustration and disillusionment motivating he and his younger selves manifest most palpably in Act 111, where the tone (especially in Bley’s monologues) builds to downright accusatory, confrontational. Bley comes by it honestly, if he is to be believed. And, to offset his rancor, there is plenty of humor, especially that of a self-deprecating it's perfectly okay to laugh at my pain nature.
Chronologically, each of the story’s three acts strikes a different balance between its underlying straight timeline and context-based forward and backward digressions. Each act also compresses its base timeline differently. Most of Act 1 takes place within a ten-day period. Act 11 covers ten years. While touching farther back in time than Acts 1 and 11, Act 111 also fills in gaps pertaining to the thirteen years from Act Il’s end to the story’s present day. The present here is the “stage’", where all interaction between the narrators takes place. Per the stage directions, it is the living room of Bley’s current residence, which itself is the setting of various stories in When Can I Co Home? Whether a set on the stage or a room on the page, this is the where and when of Bley’s writing process. Although his entire life is examined over the course of the three acts, the main timeline—from the Act 1 chapter “June 29, 2001” to the final present-tense scene near the end of Act 111—begins with an inciting incident: the death of Bley’s best friend and first love, Sam. It is not made clear whether Sam appears in any active form other than as one of the disembodied voices, i.e., in Bley’s imagination and memory. Her image is only necessarily denoted in mentions of still photos, or, the integration of such photos into supplemental video projections. Visitations and funeral services for Sam are the crux of Act I. Much of what follows in acts II and III purports to stem from Bley’s experience with her death, fused with the other major themes in When Can 1 Go Home?', search for place, family dysfunction, substance abuse, and mental illness
The Effect of Age Dependency Ratios on Economic Growth
Get PDFIn this paper, we study the effect of the Age Dependency Ratio of a country on that country’s economic growth using panel data regressed from 24 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development across the years 1960 to 2010. The relationship between a country’s ADR and its growth in RGDP per worker is modeled via an augmented Solow model. Through our regression, we find a statistically significant negative association between a country’s ADR and their economic growth. The higher the ADR of a country is; the slower their growth. It is difficult for a country to grow if their percentage of dependents are high because it requires more money and personnel to take care of these people.We would like to thank Professor Sturgill and Professor St. Pierre for their immense help
In Defense of a Comparative Theological Assessment of Selected Orders of the Church in the Province of the West Indies and the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas
No full textThe Church of the Province of the West Indies (CPWI) and the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas (MCCA) have begun the process of ecumenical engagement as encouraged by the Lambeth Conference of the Anglican Communion and the Methodist World Council respectively. Two formal conversations were conducted in November 2017 and May
2018. However, there is a lack of local data to guide the discussions. The basic dividing issue between the churches has centered around the historic episcopate and the need for Anglican ecumenical partners to take episcopacy into their systems. With the installation of a President- Bishop in the MCCA, the issue of who is a bishop has come to the fore.
This study examines the theology of the orders of bishop and presbyter/priest using a comparative ecclesiological methodology as proposed by Roger Haight. The history of ecumenical engagement between the “parent churches” in England is explored and then extended to the world level before focusing on the local Caribbean context. Using the concept of lex orandi, lex credendi the ordinals of the two churches were assessed to unearth their respective theology of the two orders. A review of the ordinals of both CPWI and MCCA indicate that they both demonstrate sacramental ordination at the orders of bishop and presbyter/priest based on the criteria outlined by William Countryman. The rites of ordination occurred within public worship,
the reading and exposition of Holy Scripture, and Holy Eucharist; the people were given the opportunity to object or approve the candidates at varying times during the process; the wider Church was involved in the discernment of vocation; and there was tactile succession, the laying on of hands during the ordination.
Caribbean Methodists persist with the Connexion as the final decision-making body. However, they have chosen to take episcopacy into their system with the installation of their Presidents as bishops. This ameliorated the need for episcopacy, as outlined in the Chicago- Lambeth Quadrilateral, and its recognition by Caribbean Anglicans will facilitate expansion of the understanding of the transmission of apostolicity and spur further discussions.Rev. Dr. Robert MacSwai