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Vacationland U.S.A.
No full textArtist Statement: Where would your dream vacation take place? On a tropical cruise? In the Bahamas? Italy? Paris? Or what about here, in the Unites States of America? I think too often we get set on traveling to new, exotic places and forget about the beauty and adventure offered in our own backyards. We are lucky to have the diversity we do in our country, and with that comes vacations of all types.https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/altered_book/1097/thumbnail.jp
Captive
No full textArtist Statement: My mother thought I was going to become a writer. I used to pretend that I could write, before I actually could. The library books I ruined I am told were countless. I just had to write down my own story next to the pictures because I could not read the book\u27s words. After I could read and write I started to draw. I drew my own characters to stories that I had read. I made my own language, which these drawn illustrations spoke in. I started to want to make the magic in the stories I loved come alive. I have not grown up. The magic is real; it is just that not everyone can see it. I still believe in story telling just as much as I believe in fairies. I just have found another medium to use to write. In the piece Captive I am taking a fairytale that we are all familiar with and contextualizing it into an artist\u27s book. Just like the princess in the story who is captive in a tower, my book is unable to be opened, unable to be read. I have captured its contents.https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/altered_book/1102/thumbnail.jp
Post-translational Modification of a Key Transcription Factor for HSV-1 Infection
No full textHerpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a highly prevalent human virus that causes cold sores. The HSV-1 virion contains VP16, a potent transcriptional activator that recruits host cell proteins, including Oct-1, to initiate viral immediate early (IE) gene expression and therefore the lytic cycle. VP16 is also an important structural protein within the viral tegument. As VP16 is so multifunctional, we hypothesize that phosphorylation of serine 375 of VP16 is important for the regulation of VP16’s function throughout different times during the lytic cycle. Immunoblots revealed serine 375 phosphorylation at 20 hpi (hours post infection). Immunofluorescence assays of infected cells revealed detectable VP16 phosphorylation by 8 hpi, with dramatic increases through 24 hpi. Phosphorylated VP16 colocalized with AP1AR, a cellular adaptor protein implicated in tegument packaging. Phosphorylated VP16 was also detected in the virions by western blot. These data indicate that phosphorylation of serine 375 may be necessary for VP16’s role as a tegument protein. Alternatively, VP16 may need to be pre-phosphorylated to induce IE gene expression and initiate the following lytic cycle. Future work will characterize the role Ser375 phosphorylation plays in VP16’s interactions with host cell proteins throughout the lytic cycle
Phylogenetics and Biogeography of Maples Based on Plastid Genome Data
No full textAcer (maples) is one of the species rich tree genera in the Northern Hemisphere and consists of ~130 species. Maples are easily recognized by the opposite leaf arrangement and samara type of fruits. While the modern center of diversity is in central and southwestern China with two-thirds of the total number of species, some morphologically distinctive lineages occur in Japan, North America, Central Asia, Europe, and Indonesia. Recent phylogenetic studies of Acer have used sequences of nuclear ribosomal and chloroplast DNA regions. However, none have resolved the deep relationships among maple sections. This has hampered our understanding of the natural history of maples. In this study, we gathered plastid genome sequences from representatives of the sections using the IonTorrent sequencing technology, and our results suggested that maples might have experienced a rapid diversification of lineages in the Eocene resulting in most of the sections
Long Term Trends of Size Distribution for Eastern Hemlock in West Michigan Dune Forests
Get PDFSize distributions of trees often yield valuable clues about changing environmental conditions and the responses of populations to them. In a recent study, we measured the size distribution of Eastern Hemlocks in several forests near Lake Michigan to determine whether active recruitment into the population is taking place at a similar rate as in the past. The diameter at breast height of trees was measured for a large sample of hemlocks in selected stands. Analysis showed that the size distribution was strongly skewed toward the intermediate and larger size classes (p \u3c 0.001), suggesting a failure of recent recruitment relative to that in the past. Potential reasons for this decline in recruitment include, but are not limited to, herbivory by deer and possibly climatic changes in the last few decades (increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation rates). Other studies in the Lake Michigan region, both inland and coastal, have documented declines in hemlock populations based on sample data and paleoecological trends. If the observed trend continues into the future, Eastern Hemlock will most likely continue to decline in density in these forests over the long term
Can People Infer the Valence of a News Message Based on the Delay Before the Sender Shares It?
Get PDFAt some point in their lives, people find themselves in the position of having to share bad news. Prior research suggests that, compared with good news, people will delay the onset of bad news. Prior research also suggests that this delay might convey information about the news valence (whether the news is good or bad) to the receiver. The current research explores whether receivers of news can infer the valence of the news based on the length of time a sender waits before sharing the news. We begin by testing whether people in general tend to attach valence judgments to delays of varying lengths. Participants will listen to a pre-recorded message of a test-scorer who is in the process of communicating to a test-taker a score on an important exam. The messages will be manipulated to feature either a ten-second or two-second delay before the test results begin to be shared. Participants will judge whether the score about to be shared will be high or low. If people in general tend to associate longer delays with bad news and shorter delays with good news, participants should rate the ten-second delay messages as signaling lower test scores relative to the two-second delay messages
Are Rising Healthcare Costs in Ohio a Direct Result of Increasing Litigation Rates?
No full textThe United States has been at the forefront of the healthcare world for years. With a system that is ever changing, keeping up with the healthcare industry can be difficult. Many argue that recent increases in healthcare cost can be attributed to the recent shift from offensive to defensive medicine. As a major transfer in the way that healthcare is being distributed in the country, defensive medicine takes the patient and their wellbeing out of the forefront of the medical industry, and places fear of malpractice litigations at the center. With increasing costs of litigations becoming a common occurrence in the United States, it is undeniable that the effect plays out in the way doctors deliver care. It is hard to deny that the effectiveness (and therefore the cost) is becoming higher than it used to be. A question that this raises, and one that I will attempt to answer is: does the increase in closed litigations (and therefore defensive medicine) drive up the cost of healthcare in the state of Ohio? The study used the Ohio closed-claim reports from 2005-2011 to analyze and draw conclusions about the litigation rates and healthcare prices in Ohio. Ohio served as the perfect testing ground, as it is internationally known for having two of the top 25 hospitals in our country—each with at least one number-one ranked program. Research suggested that defensive medicine driving up healthcare costs could be the case, but because of the small sample size that was being drawn from, the results were inconclusive. Further studies would be suggested on a national scale to see the effect of litigation behavior on per-capita spending in healthcare
The Turn, the Cauldron, and the Scapegoat: A Study of the Second Branch of the Mabinogi Through the Mythological Theories of René Girard and J. R. R. Tolkien
Get PDFMyth has always captured the imagination of humankind, yet there is great disagreement among scholars over what these stories reveal about human nature. The Four Branches of the Mabinogi, a group of Welsh myths written down in the twelfth century, certainly are among the most enigmatic of the world’s stories. Like all myths, the tone of these four interrelated stories ranges from captivatingly beautiful to strikingly violent. This study attempts to interpret the Second Branch through the lenses of two very different theories of myth—those of J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973) and René Girard (b. 1923)—while keeping in mind other interpretations of this story by leading scholars. Tolkien, the famous author of The Lord of the Rings, believed that myths are just a form of fairy-story. His theories focus on the magical elements of such stories and the effects that they have (or ought to have) on readers. Tolkien’s work mainly concentrates on the joy produced by the happy ending—or ‘turn’—and the communal element of fairy magic. Girard, the literary theorist and social philosopher famous for his Mimetic Theory, on the other hand, believes that myths are based on actual events. Therefore, in order to reveal the facts, certain facets of the story, including the supernatural aspects, must be removed. His theory focuses on the violence of myths and the traditional villains of such stories. The ideas of these two men reveal two completely different interpretations of the strange tale of Brânwen Daughter of Llyr, while also leaving other sides of the tale completely unexplained. I suggest that together they can help a reader understand this myth, just as the myth helps a reader prove the validity of both such opposite theories
Sorption of Antibacterial Compounds, Penicillin and Triclosan, to Clays: Implications for Removal of Pharmaceuticals from Aqueous Systems
Get PDFThe fate of antibacterial compounds is an important area of research due to the correlation between antibiotic contamination and the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Triclosan (TCS) is a common active antimicrobial agent in antibacterial hand soaps and other antimicrobial products. The effects of TCS contamination in the environment are not understood. TCS sorption to three clays (illite, kaolinite, and montmorillonite) was studied in batch experiments at various pH conditions and TCS concentrations. Preliminary results indicate that sorption of hydrophobic TCS does not follow adsorption trends of polar antibacterial compounds at near-neutral pH. Also, expansion of the clay crystal structure interlayer spacing (d-spacing) in montmorillonite (as detected by powder X-ray diffraction) suggests multiple TCS-clay sorption mechanisms. The sorption of Na-ampicillin (AMP) to clays was also investigated in batch mixing experiments at various pH conditions. AMP is a common penicillin-class human and veterinary antibiotic. Results yield non-linear isotherms as well as interlayer expansion and clay-enhanced degradation of AMP under certain conditions. Overall preliminary results of the ongoing study indicate an important and complex role for clays in the fate, transport, and removal of antibacterial compounds in sediment-water systems
Dr. John A. Otte: A Study in Christian Cross-Cultural Mission Methods in China
No full textWhen a person thinks about missionaries, the common stereotype is the idea of imposing the Western lifestyle on “savages”, the natives of a particular region. If a person takes a closer look at the evidence of the lives of missionaries, he or she might find that this stereotype is incomplete at best, with many essential holes. One case study that can help fill these holes is the life and ministry of Dr. John A. Otte, a medical missionary to China from 1888-1910 with the denomination of the Reformed Church of America. Otte ministered to the Chinese first medically, through the healing of their bodies, then spiritually, as a reference on the Christian life. Instead of making the Chinese adopt Western practices to become Christians, Otte adopted some of their practices himself so that he could appeal to them. Otte could not simply consider his ways better than others’; and he did not do so, but demonstrated immense respect for the locals. Other missionaries’ accounts support that Otte’s methods were appropriate and effective for the people and the time. By being intentional about relating to them, Otte presented the story of Christianity in a truly personal way to the Chinese people that caused them to love God even more than they loved him