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Finding Neoliberalism Within Black Conservatism
No full textThis presentation seeks to understand neoliberalism’s impact on Black conservatism by examining recurring themes in interviews with two conservative Black women. I aim to continue the work of political scientists who have attempted to nuance the concept linked fate, or the idea that Black people vote primarily in their community\u27s interest and not using their individual policy preferences. First, I will provide a brief history of Black conservatism in the US and the political ideologies that constitute it. Second, I shall examine what ideologies constitute Black neoliberalism and the historical forces influencing this political ideology. Black neoliberalism differs from its namesake due to chattel slavery’s enduring legacy in American society and the unique dehumanization Black Americans experienced that continues to negatively influence how we are perceived today. Third, I will discuss how my interviews demonstrated that the participants used neoliberal rhetoric to justify their conservative political beliefs. Both interviews showed evidence of the valorization of Black success and the normalization of the constant violence Black people face. My research will further the work of scholars such as Lester K. Spence and Kevin L. Clay, who have critically examined how neoliberalism has impacted Black political discourse. The implications of this project are broadening the idea of linked fate regarding Black political behavior and gaining a deeper understanding of how state-sanctioned racism impacted Black neoliberal thought
Search for Axion-like Stars Using the Global Network of Optical Magnetometers for Exotic Physics (GNOME)
No full textAstrophysical evidence suggests that more than 80% of matter in the universe is made of material that scientists have never seen. A multitude of theories have been proposed to explain the origin and composition of this so-called dark matter. In the The Global Network of Optical Magnetometers (GNOME) experiment, dark matter is theorized to represent an ultralight particle. The aim of the experiment is to detect the exotic spin coupling, which are similar to interaction spins in magnetic fields, between elementary particles and axion-like particles. This detection is executed through the utilization of multiple stations across the world through magnetometers through a technique called the excess power analysis. The elimination of the noise and extraction of possible candidates for the fluctuations in the magnetic field from axion-like particles is the main task of the analysis. This study uses the codebase to minimize noise from the received signals, to set thresholds, and to extract possible transient signals from the candidates as a result of coincidence and consistency checks. The current biggest goal for the code is optimization of time. Due to a multitude of time-demanding computational processes involved in the execution of the code, the program runs relatively timely on simulated data, yet not for real data
Influence of overexpression of the phosphodiesterase YhjH on E. coli biofilm formation and composition
No full textTo better survive, most bacterial species gather in communities called biofilms which form on most every type of surface. Although biofilm is beneficial for the survival of these microbes, bacteria in biofilms are notably more tolerant to antibiotics, and their biomass can occlude pipes and contaminate storage containers, posing serious problems for public health and industry. We are interested in manipulating signaling pathways and studying their impact on biofilm formation and composition. Earlier work by our laboratory demonstrated that overexpression of the transcription factor RpoF significantly increased biofilm growth at warmer temperatures. The E. coli cyclic-di-GMP phosphodiesterase YhjH, a downstream target in the RpoF signaling pathway, has two distinct and opposite roles in biofilm formation. YhjH hydrolyzes the second messenger cyclic-di-GMP, leading to the inhibition of curli, extracellular structures that promote the adhesion and maturation of biofilm, thus ultimately inhibiting biofilm growth. Secondly, it can boost the growth of Type I pili, extracellular structures that promote biofilm growth. Here, we overexpress the phosphodiesterase YhjH in E. coli and measure how it affects biofilm growth and composition of the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). We grew biofilm on glass wool and measured its growth over time using a crystal violet assay. We supplemented colorimetric biochemistry assays with confocal microscopy to measure the concentrations of different biomolecules in the EPS, such as carbohydrates, proteins, and extracellular DNA. Significantly less biofilm grew with YhjH overexpression at both warmer (37 C) and cooler (28 C) growth temperatures, and preliminary results show minimal differences in the composition of the EPS with these growth conditions. These results suggest that the RpoF overexpression\u27s influence on increased biofilm growth happens via a mechanism separate from YhjH activity
Unlocking the evolution of different sexes in the Hawaiian endemic plant genus Schiedea
No full textThe Hawaiian endemic plant genus Schiedea of the family Caryophyllaceae consists of 34 species, exhibiting extremely diverse breeding systems. Schiedea breeding strategies vary from insect to wind pollinated, hermaphroditic (individual with both male and female reproductive organs) to dioecious (male and female individuals in the same population), and out-crossing to self-pollinating. Understanding Schiedea’s breeding system is hugely important as it helps to shed light on the evolution of separate sexes in plants, which occur in about 15% of all plant species, and especially on oceanic islands where pollinators are fewer than on the mainland.
Existing phylogenetic data suggests that the ancestor of the genus was hermaphroditic, and that separate sexes may have evolved multiple times in Schiedea, reducing the amount of selfing in wind-pollinated plants. This breeding pattern is very likely coinciding with the evolution of wind pollination in drier Hawaiian habitats. However, with some limitations in the amount of DNA used to build pre-existing phylogenetic data, it would be challenging to fully understand the evolutionary transition between sexes. Therefore, in this study, we plan on reconstructing the evolutionary history of Schiedea by generating DNA sequence data for ~1000 genes, which will allow us to resolve the relationships and breeding system evolution among all Schiedea species with much greater confidence
Changes in Tolerance of Amphenicol and Tetracylcine Antibiotics with Stress-Responsive Transcription Factor Overexpression in E. coli
No full textAntibiotic resistance has become a global issue due to antibiotic over prescription, indiscriminate use in livestock consumed by humans, and natural evolution of various bacterial species. Bacteria use many mechanisms to evade antibiotic action; one well-studied mechanism is the growth of biofilm, a sedentary state of bacteria surrounded by a hydrated and protective extracellular matrix. We are interested in how the overexpression of specific stress-responsive signaling pathways influence how Escherichia coli tolerate different classes of antibiotics and if the combination of pathway activation and antibiotic treatment changes biofilm formation and composition. We are studying the overexpression of the transcription factors rpoF and rpoH.154N in E. coli in combination with chloramphenicol, florfenicol, and tetracycline. We are measuring the growth of the bacteria using UV-visible spectroscopy to record the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and measuring biofilm growth using a crystal violet assay. Preliminary results show that the overexpression of either rpoH.154N or rpoF enhances the MIC for chloramphenicol above 4.4 µg/mL, the commonly reported MIC for E. coli. Our next steps include narrowing down the MIC for these antibiotics under differing experimental conditions and collecting biofilm growth data
The Changing Mix of Gay Bar Subtypes after COVID-19 Restrictions in the United States, 2017 to 2023
No full textThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic marked a dramatic change in the gendered composition of gay bars and a slowing rate of overall decline. Trends are drawn from historic data from printed business guides supplemented with two national censuses of online business listings for LGBTQ+ bars. An online census shows a rebound from a nadir of 730 gay bars in spring 2021 to 803 in 2023. Bars serving mostly or only cisgender men plummeted in their share from 44.6 percent of all gay bars to only 24.2 percent. Bars serving men\u27s kink communities also declined, from 8.5 percent to 6.6 percent of all gay bars. Bars serving men and women together increased from 44.2 percent to 65.6 percent of all gay bars. Lesbian bars nearly doubled from 15 to 29 establishments to 3.6 percent of the total. Bars serving people of color experienced a small decline in their share from 2019 to 2023
Ophelia: A Prism (2023) Image 26
No full textOphelia: A PrismFebruary 2-5, 2023 Irene and Alan Wurtzel Theater, Oberlin College
By Mieko Gavia \u2711Directed by H. Harvey \u2711
More information about this productionhttps://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/images_ophelia/1025/thumbnail.jp
Stonewallin\u27 (2023) Image 05
No full textStonewallin\u27April 13-16, 2023Irene and Alan Wurtzel Theater, Oberlin College
Written and directed by Kari Barclay
More information about this productionhttps://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/images_stonewallin/1004/thumbnail.jp
Stonewallin\u27 (2023) Image 06
No full textStonewallin\u27April 13-16, 2023Irene and Alan Wurtzel Theater, Oberlin College
Written and directed by Kari Barclay
More information about this productionhttps://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/images_stonewallin/1005/thumbnail.jp