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Towards the Selective Inhibition of Glycolytic Pathway Enzymes: A Computational Analysis of Plasmodium falciparum and Human Triosephosphate Isomerase Ligand Interactions.
Get PDFPlasmodium falciparum is main causative agent of malaria, a disease that affects half of world’s population. The parasite’s dependence on glycolysis makes this pathway a suitable target for drug development. Understanding the structure-function dynamics of glycolytic enzymes in different species has an important impact on the development of selective drug analogues. Parasitic resistance and drug side effects of current antimalarial drugs have complicated and increased the cost of curing malaria.Molecular docking was used to explore structural motifs responsible for the interactions between triose phosphate isomerase (TIM) from Plasmodium falciparum (PFTIM) and human (HTIM) tissues. Fourteen antimalarial drugs were examined. The binding affinities and domains identified serve as a basis for modeling novel analogues.For all drugs modeled, PFTIM complexes displayed stronger binding affinities compared to HTIM. A dissociation constant (KI) of 40.2 mM was obtained for the interaction between primaquine and HTIM and 1.22 mM with PFTIM. This represents a 33-fold increase in selective binding to PFTM compared to HTIM. Mefloquine shows a 24-fold increase, and one new test ligand showed 25-fold increase in binding.The dimer interface and other pocket close to the active site are the main pockets observed by the docking studies. Key residues at the dimer interphase (Y48, D49, V46, S45, E65, S211) form a tight pocket with favorable polar contacts. 75% of PFTIM ligand complexes preferred the dimer interphase suggesting a potential site for non-competitive inhibition. These data suggest that TIM is a candidate for development of antimalarial drugs.Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Neville Forlem
Dance Under the Swastika: Rudolf von Laban\u27s Influence on Nazi Power
Get PDFThis investigation of esteemed dance artist Rudolf von Laban’s early career examines his involvement with the Nazi regime while working as the director of the German Dance Theater (Deutchen Tanzbuhne). During this time, he actively ensured the upholding of Aryan and National Socialist ideals in dance performance and training, and used his own ensemble-based choreography to promote the creation of community under the swastika. Many dance scholars, focused on the numerous contributions Laban made to the development of modern dance, tend to consider his actions between 1930-1937 to have been coerced or executed out of fear for his life. However, based on official Nazi documentation and accounts and timelines of Laban’s actions and personally written beliefs, the author suggests that Laban’s alignment with the Third Reich was intentional and not the result of coercion or manipulation.Faculty Sponsor: Lodi McLellanFaculty Sponsor: Lodi McClella
An Exploration of the Ontology of the Intellectual
Get PDFIn this paper I wish to explore the historical and sociological contexts that allowed the flourishing of philosophy and identify the modern intellectual’s relevance in a society that outside the realm of academia has appeared to regress in an appreciation or acknowledgement for the usefulness of philosophy. I will begin by examining the influence of socio-political and economic factors on the success of intellectuals primarily in the enlightenment period and the later 20th century French thought. I will include references to the motive of committed writing, ethical purity, investment in the academic community, autonomy of the discipline, and institutional roles. I wish to focus on the ontological identity of the public intellectual by examining the work of Pierre Bourdieu and Jean Paul Sartre on this topic, as well as their own public presence as applied philosophers. This exploration requires the secondary interpretations of Nathan Crick as well as Carl-Goran Heidegren and Henrik Lundberg. My aim is to illustrate the ontology of the modern intellectual through the understanding of (1) external identity–how outsiders perceive philosophy, (2) community identity–how members within the network perceive philosophy, and (3) personal identity–how the intellectuals themselves perceive philosophy
On Time
Get PDFContemporary philosophy discussions on the nature of time begin with McTaggart, who introduces two ways of describing temporal relation between events: the A-series, focusing on the past, present and future, is about positions of time; and the B-series, which an event’s position in the series is described only in relation to other events: “earlier than,” “later than,” or “simultaneous with.” Along with McTaggart’s objection to the reality of time, I provide a detailed exposition of why change can be expressed within the A-series and why the A-series contains a contradiction. In addition, I demonstrate step by step that time does not flow from one moment to the next in the “B-series” of time. I expound upon the concept to sketch the objective and subjective time perceptions from Kant’s logical perspectives. Then, by identifying objective and subjective temporal concept types, based on Smart’s and Sartre’s arguments regarding the incapability of applying physical reductionism on time and the absence of passage in human definitions of time, I argue for a new approach in contemporary discussions on the predominantly subjective nature of time
Emergentism Reconsidered
Get PDFThis paper argues that emergentism is not committed to downward causation but of direct causation. Events that are believed to be caused by a mental state, whether physical or mental, are actually caused by a physical state with a mental property. These mental properties are caused by the complexity of a collection of several physical components. Emergentism, as a view, is often faced by the fallacy of composition given its nomological nature which leads one to resort to dualism. Mental properties cannot exist in and of itself, but it only supports the physical through entailment. Lastly, it gives a brief discussion regarding some of the conditions of the possibility of emergent properties in conjunction with the characteristics of biological organisms
The Rise of Structural Individualism: Millennial Attitudes toward Welfare and Poverty
Get PDFThis article examines college student attitudes towards social policy by linking how millennials define poverty and welfare to their beliefs about redistribution and policy changes. Using a mixed methodology, we develop a theory to explain why students often use structural definitions of poverty and social policy coupled with a reliance on individualistic solutions for individuals saddled with poverty or in need of social assistance. 450 surveys and 10 interviews were conducted to examine attitudes toward poverty, welfare policy, and people receiving welfare. The results, while not generalizable, shed light on how millennials think about the link between poverty and welfare.Faculty Sponsor: JoEllen Pederso
Belief Revision in the Context of Hume’s Treatise and Contemporary Psychology
Get PDFThis paper examines the emotional and social motivations of belief and belief correction. As beliefs motivate one’s actions, one must examine how one revises an erroneous or harmful belief and what methodology one can employ in order to best facilitate this revision, resulting in more conscientious action. This paper examines belief formation and revision in the context of David Hume’s 1739-1740 work A Treatise of Human Nature, with particular attention to not only Hume’s account of belief and belief revision, but also the interaction of passions, the mechanism of sympathy, reason, and probability judgments. It is hypothesized Hume’s theory of belief will be reflected in contemporary psychology and cognitive science, with individuals more likely to revise their beliefs based emotional and social factors and experiences proposed by Hume
Response through the Intentional Arc: Merleau- Ponty, Dreyfus and Second Language Acquisition
Get PDFEffects of Solar Arrays on Southwestern Desert Thermal Landscapes: Consequences for Terrestrial Ectotherms
Get PDFSolar energy development in the Southwestern United States coincides with habitat for many sensitive and endemic species, including reptiles such as Mojave Fringe-toed Lizards and Mojave Desert Tortoises who are threatened by a warming and drying climate. While utility-scale solar energy reduces carbon emissions and should ultimately benefit climate-sensitive species, it locally destroys fragile desert habitat, displaces wildlife, and has been shown to incur local air and surface temperature changes. Mitigation-based translocation of wildlife species in the face of solar development yields mixed results, and the unprecedented pace of solar expansion in the desert highlights the need for alternative practices in managing sensitive species in affected areas. One such proposed alternative is the reintroduction of wildlife back into solar arrays post-construction. All wildlife but especially reptiles are dependent on the availability of suitable environmental temperatures alongside other habitat requirements to persist in their environment, but the effect of solar arrays on the thermal environment for wildlife is unclear.
This study addresses the potential for utility-scale solar arrays to affect the thermal ecology of desert reptiles and other wildlife living within and alongside their developments. From April-October 2022 I documented some effects of solar arrays on the local thermal environment in the Lower Colorado River Valley subregion of the Sonoran Desert where extensive solar energy development is taking place. Using temperature dataloggers and operative temperature models, the latter of which emulated body temperatures of non-thermoregulating lizards, I compared environmental and operative temperatures between two solar arrays and unaltered desert habitat. I also used visual survey and camera-trapping techniques to observe the vertebrate communities living within solar arrays and compared them to natural surrounding habitat. I found that vertebrate species richness was reduced and communities were less similar within and adjacent to utility-scale solar arrays when compared to natural habitat. Operative temperatures of lizards in the shade beneath solar panels were 2-3 °C warmer than the same models under a natural shade source, suggesting that the thermal ecology of reptiles may be changed within these facilities. These findings support previous research documenting the local warming effects of utility-scale solar arrays and underscore the need for further research on their habitat suitability for threatened species. This study provides preliminary information on the effects of solar arrays on operative temperatures of reptiles in order to guide future research and potentially inform management and mitigation strategies for sensitive species affected by solar energy development
Symposium on American Values
No full textMen stretching and exercising in the gym as part of Mens Sana in Corpore Sano: A Descriptive Pageant highlighting the various programs of instruction in the Division of Physical Education during the 2nd Symposium on American Values, Thursday, April 25, 1963.https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/john_foster_photos/4146/thumbnail.jp