The University of Kansas: Journals@KU
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Male-male agonistic interaction in the Four-lined Ameiva, Holcosus quadrilineatus (Squamata: Teiidae), in Costa Rica
Get PDFAn invasive threat: Predation on California Red-legged Frog (Amerana draytonii) egg masses by the Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) in Baja California, Mexico
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The Intention in Invention: A Philosophy of Technical Imagination
Get PDFTo reflect on imagination today is not to revisit an exhausted theme, but to re-engage a philosophical question that continues to unsettle inherited epistemologies and ontologies. Our article focuses on one specific regime of imagination: the relation between imagination and technology, approached through the lens of invention. As we explore the particular regime of technical imagination, we aim to overcome the idea that invention should be treated as a purely productive process, a functional response to needs, materials or economic constraints. Because this renders technical imagination only legible within the parameters of technological solutionism or innovation-as-commodity, we rather argue that invention, as a technical activity, mobilizes a specific form of imagination; one that requires a rethinking of technicity itself. We therefore examine how technical imagination engages with the virtuality and potentiality of matter, as it schematizes possibilities and projects relations before they are actualized. In doing so, our main hypothesis is the need to explore the temporal structure of imagination through the concept of technical intention. We argue that in the process of invention, the very operativity of technical imagination rests on intention. Our hypothesis is that technical intention is the active operativity of imagination within the process of invention, and from what emerges the actualization of a concrete technical individual. Within this gesture, the investigation of imagination plays a central role as a vector of ontogenetic individuation, that calls for a form of responsibility adequate to the transformations it sets into motion, grounded in an awareness that invention is never neutral, but always intervenes in the becoming of reality and consequently in the shaping of our societies. It is in this sense that invention must be understood as inherently grounded in technical imagination, and that both of them reclaims their aesthetic, ethical and political stakes
RFDiffusion: Revolutionizing Protein Design with Generative AI
No full textProtein design is an intricate and essential frontier in biotechnology, offering the potential to revolutionize medicine, materials science, and our understanding of biological systems. At its core, protein design involves crafting proteins with specific structural or functional properties. These tasks include creating enzymes with catalytic activity, designing protein binders to interact with specific targets, and engineering scaffolds that stabilize biologically relevant motifs. For years, traditional methods of protein design relied heavily on physics-based simulations and iterative experimental testing. While groundbreaking, these approaches were often computationally expensive and limited in their ability to explore the vast diversity of protein structures
The role of RNA 2′-O-methylation in prostate cancer
Get PDF2′-O-methylation (Nm) represents a pervasive RNA modification occurring in multiple RNA species, including messenger RNA (mRNA), ribosomal RNA (rRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), microRNA (miRNA), and PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA). This chemical mark exerts critical regulatory functions in RNA stability, transcriptional control, and translational efficiency. Recent advances in high-throughput sequencing technologies have enabled transcriptome-wide mapping of Nm sites, uncovering increasing evidence that aberrant Nm modifications contribute to oncogenesis and tumor progression. Prostate cancer, the second most commonly diagnosed malignancy in men in the United States, has emerged as a disease context in which dysregulated Nm-related pathways are of particular significance. As sequencing-based investigations continue to expand, delineating the activities of Nm-modifying enzymes across distinct RNA classes in prostate cancer is anticipated to provide mechanistic insights into disease biology, facilitate the discovery of novel therapeutic targets, and ultimately guide the development of Nm-centered anticancer strategies
Virtual Innovation in a 2020 Production of Manual for a Desperate Crossing by María Irene Fornés. Interview with BYU Professor of Theatre, Kris Peterson
No full textWhile other pieces by Fornés have been more produced, such as Fefu and her Friends or Tango Palace, director Kris Peterson talks about why Manual for a Desperate Crossing, from 1996, spoke to her and her students, along with the many challenges and surprising rewards from working through and presenting this piece entirely virtually during the early part of the 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic. As we have seen repeatedly in the field of theatre, the pandemic moment forced artists, practitioners, and theatre community folks to re-think the art of production and possible adaptations given the new restrictions. While theatre may have returned to mostly in-person productions in the present moment, the lessons we can take from the accelerated learning about how to pivot under isolation and physical restriction will stay in our tool kit for years to come
Editorial Introduction
No full textFew concepts in the history of philosophy or science are as rich, polysemic and mysterious as imagination. That “art concealed in the depths of the human soul” as Kant said, is indeed a fundamental concept in philosophy, namely in philosophy of knowledge, logic, metaphysics, philosophy of science, modal epistemology, aesthetics, philosophy of art, ethics, social and political philosophy, philosophy of mind and so on.
Faculty Perspectives: Teaching in a Competency-Based Education Program
No full textCompetency-based education shifts the focus from teacher-led instruction to student-centered learning, where faculty take on the role of facilitator of learning. While a fair amount of literature exists around the administrative decision-making process and student experiences in competency-based education, there is little in the way of research surrounding the faculty experience. This study sought to better understand how faculty in higher education perceive that they are best supported during transition to a competency-based education environment. Developing a richer understanding of faculty perspectives via cross-case synthesis provides insights for those in higher education to understand how best to support faculty as they transition to competency-based education. Understanding and operationally adjusting to this new perspective of teaching and learning requires a shift not only in the day-to-day functions of a faculty member, but also to basic assumptions of what it is to be a faculty member in higher education. Faculty perceive that they are best supported in a transition to a competency-based education environment by legitimizing the value of competency-based education, supporting scholarly activities, providing ongoing professional learning specific to instructional strategies and assessment strategies that support student-centered learning, collaboration that extends beyond competency-based education programs, and ongoing administrative support
Cloth Mask with Window as an Alternative to Opaque Mask for Students with Speech, Language, and Hearing Deficits for Infection Risk Mitigation
Get PDFIntroduction. Visualization of oral movements and facial expressions is essential for learning, development, and communication, especially among students receiving speech and language services. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of cloth masks with transparent windows as an alternative to opaque masks in mitigating the risk of droplet-transmitted infectious diseases.
Methods. Researchers measured the filtration efficiency of various medical and non-medical masks, both with and without transparent windows. A testing pipe, fitted with the selected masks, was used to deliver particulate matter (PM) at an airflow velocity mimicking human breathing. Particle size and airflow were measured using three real-time particle monitors positioned upstream and downstream of the masks. Filtration efficiency was then calculated for each of the eight masks.
Results. Mask efficiency varied based on build quality and material. Filtration efficiency for the four face masks with transparent windows ranged from 28.6% to 90%, with the single-layer mask performing the worst. All multi-layer masks with windows achieved filtration efficiencies greater than 70% for all particle sizes tested (1, 2.5, and 10 microns), exceeding that of the opaque cotton masks and approaching the filtration levels of surgical masks.
Conclusions. Given the high filtration efficiency of cloth masks with transparent windows, the authors conclude that these masks can reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other droplet-transmitted infectious diseases while also improving communication for individuals with speech, language, and/or hearing impairments.