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Better to Reign in Hell : Ambivalence and Orcs in the Lay of the Children of Húrin
No full textA remarkable passage in Tolkien\u27s incomplete Lay of the Children of Húrin, describing the Orc-band after its capture of Túrin, provides an echo of Milton\u27s assembly of fallen angels in Book I of Paradise Lost. The description of the Orc-band also hints at the kind of ambivalence which has often been ascribed to Milton\u27s portrayal of Satan. This in turn provides a connection with recent work on humanity in Tolkien\u27s depiction of the Orcs
\u3ci\u3eDiary of an Old Soul\u3c/i\u3e by George MacDonald, annotated edition
Get PDFBook Review of Diary of an Old Soul by George MacDonald. Annotated edition with introd. and notes by Timothy Larsen. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press Academic, 2024
46. Identification and Characterization of a DNA-binding Protein from Starved (Dps) Cells Homolog from \u3ci\u3eStreptococcus sanguinis\u3c/i\u3e, an opportunistic pathogen involved in subacute infective endocarditis
No full textIdentification and Characterization of a DNA-binding Protein from Starved (Dps) Cells Homolog from Streptococcus sanguinis, an opportunistic pathogen involved in subacute infective endocarditis
Dps proteins are ubiquitous metalloproteins that play an important role in bacterial oxidative stress tolerance. Although Dps proteins contain iron-bound active sites, other metals such as manganese (Mn) have also been shown in the active sites of some Dps proteins and have been implicated in Mn homeostasis. Streptococcus sanguinis is an opportunistic pathogen capable of causing subacute infective endocarditis (SIE) in humans. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production and Mn utilization is critical for its survival and pathogenesis. A previous study demonstrated that S. sanguinis dps mutants impaired in H2O2 mediated oxidative stress tolerance. The role of Dps in oxidative stress and the importance of Mn in virulence prompted us to investigate its role in S. sanguinis. We recently identified a 19.2 kDa Dps homolog (SSA0644) in S. sanguinis with 58% identity to a Dpr protein from S. mutans. Sequence analysis of SSA0644 revealed the presence of conserved iron entry and active site iron binding residues. In addition, preliminary homology structure analysis showed that the monomer of SSA0644 is composed of a four-helix bundle typical of Dps family of proteins. The ssa0644 gene has already been cloned into pET28a expression vector and transformed in E. coli BL21(DE3) cells. Protein overexpression and purification will be done use standard methods. Preliminary crystallization screens will be set up using vapor-diffusion method and based on the preliminary crystallization screens, optimization screens will be set up. Iron oxidation and DNA binding activity of SSA0644 will be evaluated using ferroxidase and electrophoretic mobility shift assays respectively.https://dc.swosu.edu/rf_2025/1033/thumbnail.jp
The Middle-(Un)man of Desire: A Girardian Reading of \u3ci\u3ePerelandra\u3c/i\u3e
Get PDFThe French polymath René Girard presents a compelling argument that all desire is mimetic. According to Girard, we don’t actually know what we want; instead, we imitate the desires of others. These models of desire act as mediators, indicating what objects or ways of being are worth pursuing. For Girard, desire exists in this middle place between a subject, a model, and an object. He famously argues that all great literature leverages an awareness of mimetic dynamics; the greater the work, the more mimetically perspicacious the author.
Given Girard’s theory, we would expect the greatest fantasy authors to erect their sub-creative world with an intimate awareness of mimetic desire. When we turn to Lewis, this is exactly what we find. Lewis repeatedly explores this middle place of desire with mimetic characters like Edmund Pevensie, Orual, and the inner-circle-hungry Studdocks. But perhaps Lewis’s most insightful exploration of this middle place of desire comes in the middle book of his Ransom trilogy. Perelandra presents a supposal of what might have happened in the garden of Eden when Satan tempted Eve, and Lewis envisions this event as inexorably mimetic. On unfallen Perelandra, the Unman takes up the mantle of the pander or go-between (the most powerful kind of mimetic model) to entice the green woman to break God’s one command. I argue that the Unman’s entire strategy rests on leveraging the power of mimetic desire and explore how Girard’s insights reveal Lewis’s take on Satanic deception. Therefore, a Girardian reading of Perelandra offers fruitful insight into Lewis’s take on Satanic deception
48. Improving Cucurbit[n]uril Potential in Drug Delivery Systems
No full textCucurbit[n]urils, i.e. Cb[n], is a series of macrocycles that form a ringlike structure and have the unique property of being water soluble on the outside and organic on the inside. These properties allow for potential use in the application of a delivery vessel for medications via the drug delivery system. Cb[n] currently shows potential in stabilizing API’s and can reduce their side effects. However, several factors need to be overcome and further researched before this molecule is ready for use within humans. The major shortcoming of this compound is that Cb[n] is only slightly soluble in aqueous solutions. This could present a problem in allowing medications to be absorbed in the appropriate dosage. One way to potentially get around this lack of solubility is to modify the Cb[n] synthetically to change the structure and improve solubility. The goal of this research is to see if the addition of amino acids, specifically Arginylglycylaspartic acid (RGD) will improve the solubility of Cb[n] and increase the accuracy of drug delivery in the body. These amino acids are capable of recognizing the receptors of where drugs need to be delivered. The attachment of RGD could potentially be done by a PEG groups, acting as a “lasso”, for solubility and would contain the binding moiety needed for drug targeting. In this research the effectiveness of these synthetic additions would be explored to see if they increase the drug delivery accuracy and overall solubility of Cb[n].https://dc.swosu.edu/rf_2025/1036/thumbnail.jp
Completions 2024-25
Get PDFWelcome to the IPEDS Completions survey component. The Completions component is one of several IPEDS components that is conducted during the Fall data collection period. It collects the number of degrees and certificates awarded by field of study, level of award, race/ethnicity, and gender. The reporting period for the Completions component is during the12-month time period beginning July 1 of the previous calendar year and ending June 30 of the current calendar year; therefore, for this year’s Completions component, the reporting period is between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. The Completions component is also collecting the number of students (e.g., completers) who earned awards between July 1, 2023and June 30, 2024
\u3ci\u3eDragon\u3c/i\u3e Stained Glass for \u3ci\u3eMythprint 412\u3c/i\u3e
Get PDFCover Art: Dragon stained glass by Phillip Fitzsimmons, pattern from Steven Voss, Etsy GoldFox Studios www.etsy.com/shop/GoldFoxArtistry © 2025.
First published on the cover of Mythprint 412
No Ragnarök, No Armageddon: Pagan and Christian interpretations of \u3ci\u3eThe Lord of the Rings\u3c/i\u3e
Get PDFCritical responses to The Lord of the Rings from its publication up to 1981 (the year in which The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien was first published) often considered pagan and Christian elements in the work. To the extent that pagan and Christian views were opposed to each other, such opposition is grounded to a greater extent in the ambiguity present in The Lord of the Rings (at least in terms of its theology or world-view), than in any contradiction in the work. The distinction between ambiguity and contradiction is important, especially in the context of the significance of contradiction in Verlyn Flieger’s keystone analogy in “The Arch and the Keystone” (2019). This analogy does not therefore fit the pagan-Christian dynamic so well as her earlier view in “But What Did He Really Mean?” (2014) which highlights the ambiguity and indeterminacy in The Lord of the Rings