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The Influence of LPS-Treated BV2 Supernatants on Glutamate Induced Cell Death in HT22 Cells
No full textAlzheimer's disease (AD) was the fifth leading cause of death in people over 65 in 2021, and an estimated 13 million Americans will have AD by 2050. AD is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by memory loss and cognitive decline due to neuronal cell death. While the exact causes are still being studied, neuroinflammation, or inflammation in the brain, is known to play a role, with microglial cells immune cells of the brain being a key contributor. When overactivated, microglia release excessive inflammatory molecules, which may contribute to AD progression. To investigate this, we used HT22 cells, a mouse neuronal cell, and BV2 cells, a mouse microglial cell that produces inflammatory molecules in their "conditioned" media. We treated HT22 cells with glutamate to induce cell death and exposed them to BV2-conditioned media, then measured cell survival to determine if inflammatory molecules contribute to neuronal death. Unexpectedly, we found that BV2-conditioned media reduced the toxic effects of glutamate and promoted neuron survival. These findings suggest that microglial cells may have protective as well as harmful effects in AD, highlighting the complexity of neuroinflammation in disease progression
Strangers in the land: Reimagining the gēr through Deuteronomic law, Derridean hospitality, and evangelical politics
No full textThis dissertation examines the figure of the gēr—the stranger or resident alien—as a theological and ethical touchstone within Deuteronomic law. Situated at the intersection of biblical studies, phenomenology, and political theology, the project explores how the gēr functions not only as a legal category but as a site of covenantal memory and interpretive challenge. Against the backdrop of modern evangelical engagements with immigration, the study argues for a renewed reading posture that foregrounds vulnerability, power, and the risks of welcome.
Methodologically, this study develops a “phenomenological double reading,” rooted in the thought of Jacques Derrida and Edmund Husserl. Derrida’s concept of hostipitality—the tension between hospitality and hostility—exposes the instabilities within legal forms of welcome. Husserl’s phenomenology, particularly his theories of intentionality and historical consciousness, grounds the project in how ethical perception is formed by memory and experience. Together, these frameworks cultivate a critical, reflective encounter with the biblical text.
The dissertation begins by surveying scholarly debates around the gēr and related outsider categories such as nokrî and zār, focusing on legal and theological interpretations in Deuteronomy. It then engages contemporary evangelical political theologies surrounding immigration, mapping how biblical texts are mobilized in ways that obscure the ethical tensions of hospitality. Chapter 3 outlines the phenomenological and deconstructive frameworks guiding the project’s method. Chapter 4 applies this method to four core Deuteronomic texts (10:17–19; 24:17–18; 24:19–22; 26:12–13), demonstrating how hospitality is constructed through legal memory, ritual practice, and socio-theological vision. Chapter 5 reflects on the broader implications for biblical scholarship and public theology, and names areas for future inquiry, including womanist, postcolonial, and disability hermeneutics.
By re-centering the gēr as an ethical lens and reading Deuteronomic law through phenomenological and deconstructive methods, this project challenges readers to see hospitality not as a resolved moral value, but as an ongoing ethical crisis that demands reflection, responsibility, and the continual risk of welcome
The Waxing and Waning of Fear Influence the Control of Vector-Borne Diseases
No full textOne major challenge in preventing infectious diseases comes from human control behaviors. In the context of vector-borne diseases (VBDs), I explored how the waxing and waning of a human psychological emotion—fear—can generate diverse control actions, which, in turn, influence disease dynamics. Fear may diminish over time after being triggered but can also be reinforced when new triggers emerge. By integrating fear dynamics into a generic Ross–MacDonald model tailored for the Zika virus, I found that an increase in initial fear can enhance control efforts, thereby reducing the number of infected individuals and deaths. Once initial fear becomes strong enough to deplete the mosquito population, any further increase in fear no longer impacts disease dynamics. When initial fear is at an intermediate level, the increase in disease caused by greater decay in fear can be counterbalanced by increasing the frequency of fear triggers. Interestingly, when the control period is short and initial fear is at an intermediate level, increasing the frequency of fear reinforcement can lead to a “hydra effect”, which increases disease transmission. These findings help explain variations in human control efforts and provide insights for developing more effective disease control strategies that account for the fear dynamics of local communities. This work also contributes to advancing the theory at the intersection of human behavior, disease ecology, and epidemiology
Gameplay and physical activity behaviors in adult video game players
No full textIntroduction: Since the early 2000s, the video game industry has seen extraordinary booms in product development and market growth, with the total number of video game players globally reaching 2.69 billion by the end of 2020. Despite the rapid growth of the industry, there is little recent data investigating the time adult video game players spend sedentary playing video games and the time they spent engaged in physical activity. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional, non-experimental survey study is to describe the frequency and duration of video game play and physical activity in adult video game players. Methods: Participants completed an online survey, evaluating their demographic and health history information, video game play, and physical activity behaviors. Results: The study used data from a total of 221 participants (Males = 153, Females = 68). The mean age of the participants was 27.29 (SD 7.27) years. Of the 221 participants, 145 identified as casual players, 50 amateurs, 24 semi-professionals, and 2 professionals. The participants spent over five days per week and an average of 26.56 h per week playing video games. Personal computers were reported to have the longest duration of play of the four platforms investigated (17.59 h per week). The total amount of time participants spent engaged in cumulative moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was an average of 15.43 (SD 16.79) hours per week. The majority of this time was spent engaged in occupational physical activity (5.11 h per week). Participants spent 2.39 h per week engaged in leisure time MVPA. Conclusion: Our results indicate an increase in VG play compared to 2018, suggesting United States adult video game players may be more at risk for detrimental effects to their physical health. This could be attributed to the habits formed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the influences from video genre game play mechanics, and the social aspects of playing video games with friends. Future research should focus on developing research methodologies that will objectively measure adult video game player frequencies and durations in video game play alongside extensive observation of different video gameplay mechanic genres and their relationships with physical activity
Analysis and performance guide for two clarinet works by composer Betsy Jolas
No full textBetsy Jolas is a prolific and renowned composer born in 1926. Her oeuvre is extensive, with more than six decades of career. Despite the long career, Jolas’s works have not had significant recognition from the academic world, and her clarinet repertoire constantly gets underperformed and understudied.
The present document presents a theoretical analysis of two of Jolas’s compositions: Episode Neuvième “Fortem Magnum Coloratum” and Petites Musiques de Chevet for Bass Clarinet and Piano. The analytical techniques address form, structure, harmonic relationships, melodic treatment, and study of thematic material present in the pieces. It also presents a performance guide for both pieces, offering a performance path that feeds from the theoretical analysis, suggesting fingerings and phrasings. One of the main goals of this document is to establish a direct connection between the analytical side and the performance side of music, especially for contemporary works
A Zebra Finch's Eye View Of Self Recognition: Studying Cognition Through Mirrors And Songs
No full textSelf-recognition is an example of higher cognitive processing and is atypical in children with autism spectrum disorder. A normal hallmark of typical social development requires knowledge of self and others. Self-recognition has been tested in a variety of different species and has been seen in a small number of mammals, birds, and fish. It is classically demonstrated by visual recognition using the mirror mark test. Parishar et al. (2021) previously examined self-recognition in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), and despite some potentially promising findings, none of the birds in their experiments passed the mirror mark test. This study sought to extend previous research by exploring whether zebra finches demonstrate self-recognition using a more thorough and exhaustive procedure exposing zebra finches to a mirror following the application of visible mark. Six male zebra finches were habituated to an experimental cage and were exposed to four different conditions (mirror, male bird, female bird). Then, two analyses were performed: Experiment 1 assessed whether birds attempted to inspect or remove a mark only visible when birds viewed their reflection in a mirror in each condition, and Experiment 2 examined whether zebra finches change the spectrotemporal features of song in each of the three conditions. Observations suggest that none of the birds showed evidence of mark removal behavior. Song characteristics were explored to determine if zebra finches modify their song structure when facing a mirror compared to singing to a male bird or a female bird. This would provide evidence supporting self-recognition if the singing behavior directed toward the mirror is distinct from that toward a conspecific. This study explores whether self-recognition is observed in zebra finches, providing insight into evolutionary and cognitive mechanisms of self-recognition that can be used for future studies in the neurobiology of social and cognitive behaviors
The music and visual artwork of Woody Guthrie
No full textWoody Guthrie is primarily known as a songwriter, but his substantial body of visual artwork positions him as a multimedia artist. His creative processes for both his music and visual art emerged from a conceptual space shaped by tumultuous adventure. Examination of that space reveals Guthrie’s aesthetic sensibilities, offering essential context for analyzing his songs and artwork. These explorations of Guthrie's creativity reveal how his ideas manifested across different media and ultimately enhance a theoretical framework for the interrelationship of the arts
Balancing the burden of caring: A mixed methods study of emotional labor and job outcomes in healthcare providers
No full textHealthcare providers occupy a unique space in the lives of their patients and encounter heightened emotions as part of the clinical interaction. Although these work-related emotions can be positively or negatively valanced, the emotional toll of being a healthcare provider is often a heavy burden (Lin & Chang, 2016; Mavor et al., 2014). The purpose of this study was to clarify constructs of emotional labor (Hochschild, 1983; Ashforth & Humphrey, 1993), specifically deep acting and genuine emotion (Ashforth & Humphrey, 1993), and to understand providers’ experiences of emotional labor and job outcomes in the context of both quantitative and qualitative measurements. Using a convergent mixed methods approach, with 240 healthcare providers’ survey data and 10 qualitative interviews, these results offer conceptual clarity to the constructs and processes of emotional labor, as well as practical implications based on the lived experiences and reported data of healthcare providers
“They wrote ‘liberty’ with their blood”: Nisei soldiers in history and memory
No full textThe Japanese American Nisei who fought in World War II are among the most celebrated soldiers in American history. Typically, they are portrayed as selfless patriots eager to fight and die for the United States despite incarceration. In actuality, incarcerated Japanese Americans reacted to military service with widespread protest and resistance. Among the incarcerated, service in the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team was mostly the result of conscription rather than a voluntary exercise undertaken to display loyalty or patriotism.
The popular portrayal of Nisei service presenting Japanese American soldiers as selfless patriots began to emerge as wartime propaganda. In the postwar period, some Japanese Americans used this simplistic image of Nisei soldiers in service of political aspirations and self-fashioning as the Model Minority. This approach helped achieve many sociopolitical victories for Japanese Americans, but obscured other experiences of incarceration, sanitizing the history of Japanese Americans during World War II
Exploring the Extent and Depth of Clinical Education on Sepsis SEP-1 Core Measure and the Reported Impact on Outcomes and Compliance rate: A Scoping Review
No full textOBJECTIVES: This scoping review aimed to understand the extent and depth of education provided on the severe sepsis and septic shock management bundle quality measure (SEP-1) to frontline clinicians to elicit insight regarding the impact on patient outcomes, the compliance rate, and any efforts to alleviate concerns about clinical judgment challenges with SEP-1. DATA SOURCES: Seven databases were used: ProQuest, EBSCO Host, Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, MEDLINE, and CINAHL for studies published in 2015 and later using key terms related to sepsis and SEP-1 quality measure. STUDY SELECTION: Two independent reviewers selected studies that mentioned the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services SEP-1 and included education to frontline clinicians on the quality measure as one of the interventions. DATA EXTRACTION: Data extraction included study design, publication type, what was educated to frontline clinicians, Bennet and Bennet’s “depth of knowledge” through education provided, and any mention of patient outcomes and change in SEP-1 compliance rate from the study. DATA SYNTHESIS: The initial search yielded 493 articles. After screening for eligibility criteria, 20 studies were ultimately included. When evaluating what details of SEP-1 are being educated, 95% (19/20) of the studies focused on how to identify sepsis as well as the bundle elements required to pass the measure (19/20); however, the deeper details of the measure that allow clinical judgment and still pass the measure are severely lacking. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple education opportunities not currently addressed in the literature may lead to improvement of the national SEP-1 compliance rate and alleviate clinician concern that the quality measure does not allow for clinical judgment. Without deeper education, this knowledge gap could be a key factor in why the quality measure national compliance rate has halted, raising calls to retire the measure prematurely