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Heinrich Krieger and the Nazi Vision of the United States
No full textOn June 5, 1934, seventeen Nazi lawyers, jurists, scholars, and officials met to discuss how Nazi Germany would go about identifying and persecuting their Jewish population. This crucial meeting would lay the foundation for the Nuremberg Laws that were later created and passed in 1935. From the records of this meeting we know that US race laws concerning its black and Indian population was used as a model for the Nazi lawyers and much of the information on US race laws was obtained from research conducted by a Nazi scholar named Heinrich Krieger that was influential during the meeting.
Before this meeting Heinrich Krieger had spent a year at the University of Arkansas as a foreign exchange student during the 1933-1934 school year. While in Arkansas Krieger would partake in multiple campus activities and write a seminar paper on Nazi German labor policies as an apologist on behalf of Germany to the US. However while spending time in Arkansas Krieger would begin to notice race relations in the state that would lead him to study US race laws that would be used by Nazi officials to create the Nuremberg laws.
This thesis will study the development of Krieger while a student in Arkansas to reveal how Krieger and the Nazi party had no master plan to use the US and its race laws as a model for the Nuremberg laws. Rather by examining Krieger\u27s development from labor scholar to race scholar, we can see how Krieger and Nazi officials were opportunists who came across US race laws and saw its potential. Also, Arkansas and its race laws and race relations will be examined to learn how the state influenced Krieger\u27s research and understanding of US race laws.https://scholarworks.uark.edu/hnrcsturpc25/1045/thumbnail.jp
Computer Vision in Soccer: YOLOv11 Analytics Engine for Quantifying Game Strategy
Get PDFSingle-shot object detection capabilities significantly reduce computational overhead for real-time computer vision in sports analytics at 60 FPS. YOLO11’s lightweight CNN gives promising accuracy while meeting the low-latency demand of dynamic soccer matches. As data-driven approaches take over the sport of soccer, efficient player tracking systems become critical for informing coach’s strategies. I prototype the ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) process of data collected from a single- shot detection program and evaluate its viability for estimating player fatigue. YOLO11 detects players, the ball, and other characteristics, with the output transformed by homography to estimate the positions in the real world. These frame-to-frame position estimates provide a data basis for further analytical metrics such as distance, speed, formation, and possession estimates. Experimental results demonstrate a 70% player detection rate using a single-camera setup and models trained on public datasets, validating the approach for cost-effective, near-real-time analytics
Analysis of Marshallese Perceptions of Health and Weight in Adolescents
Get PDFPurpose: The purpose of the research is to understand the perceptions of Marshallese adolescents on the topic of health and weight, in order to provide guidance for interventions and public health efforts. The United States has the largest Marshallese population outside the Marshall Islands. Perceptions of weight and health is under researched for minority communities and from the insight of adolescents. Pacific Islanders such as the Marshallese are often categorized as part of the larger Asian American ethnic population, which is not always accurate in certain aspects where public health could provide support areas of concern.
Design: Focus groups of adolescents who identified as Marshallese from the ages of 10-17 were arranged into 2 groups based on age, 10-13 and 14-17 respectively. Respective groups participated in focus group discussion interviews (n=32) and then completing a survey (n=32) based on questions regarding health and obesity. Focus group discussion interviews were recorded and analyzed for themes. The survey results were recorded and analyzed. The interview and survey themes were compared and examined for correlations.
Results: Common themes for an individual considered healthy included balanced diet and physical activity. Majority of adolescents that participated in the survey concluded they believed they were healthy (66%). When asked to categorize themself, most participants (59%) categorized themself as “slightly overweight”. The participants contributed many of the same factors to why an individual would be considered unhealthy to why an individual would be overweight. When the question “who is responsible for your health?” was phrased, all focus groups had multiple participants agree individuals are responsible for their own health. Yet adolescents did not identify a specific age in which responsibility occurs, but answers varied between 10-16 years of age. The participants were also asked if they believed if it is important to be healthy as a teenager. Perceptions of Health and Weight status were found statistically significant for the overall group of adolescents in Chi-Square and Fisher Tests.
Discussion: Adolescents in the Marshallese community view weight as a proponent of overall health. Overall health was recognized as fluid due to the many proponents such as exercise, diet, and hygiene that affect health outcomes. To understand at what value of the BMI scale constitutes as unhealthy would further promote education
Overexpression and Biophysical and Functional Characterization of a Recombinant FGF21
Get PDFFibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is an endocrine FGF that plays a vital role in regulating essential metabolic pathways. FGF21 increases glucose uptake by cells, promotes fatty acid oxidation, reduces blood glucose levels, and alleviates metabolic diseases. However, detailed studies on its stability and biophysical characteristics have not been reported. Herein, we present the overexpression, biophysical characterization, and metabolic activity of a soluble recombinant FGF21 (rFGF21). The far-UV circular dichroism spectra of rFGF21 show a negative trough at 215 nm, indicating that the protein’s backbone predominantly adopts a β sheet conformation. rFGF21 shows intrinsic tyrosine fluorescence at 305 nm. Thermal denaturation using differential scanning calorimetry reveals that rFGF21 is relatively thermally unstable, with a melting temperature of 46.8°C (±0.1°C). The urea-induced unfolding of rFGF21 is rapid, with a chemical transition midpoint of 0.4 M. rFGF21 is readily cleaved by trypsin in limited trypsin digestion assays. Isothermal titration calorimetry experiments show that rFGF21 does not bind to heparin. Interestingly, rFGF21 demonstrates proliferative activity in NIH/3T3 fibroblasts and enhances mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and fatty acid oxidation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. These findings provide a crucial framework for the engineering of novel structure-based variants of FGF21 with improved stability and biological activity to treat metabolic disorders
Surviving Their Stripes: Quality of Life and Coping for Individuals with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
No full textHypermobile type Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) is a subtype of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a genetic connective tissue disorder with complexities involving joint hypermobility, tissue fragility and severe pain. Patients with hEDS often experience misdiagnosis, medical dismissal and years of waiting for a diagnosis. This study aims to evaluate the quality of life and diagnostic journey for patients living with hEDS. Qualitative, cross-sectional and semi-structured interviews were conducted in this study using a descriptive, phenomenological methodological approach. The specific phenomenon is the experience of the hEDS diagnosis and how that diagnosis further impacts patient life. The two primary research questions that we aimed to answer in this study include 1) What is the lived experience of someone being diagnosed with hEDS in the United States? 2) What impact did this diagnosis have on their life? Descriptive phenomenology examines the individual\u27s experiences, behaviors and motivations. hEDS patients were the target population of this study. Patients were recruited via volunteer sampling through social media. Seventeen women with hEDS were screened and required to complete a demographic survey following informed consent. The selected interview questions aimed to learn more about each individual\u27s journey before, during and after diagnosis. The transcribed interviews were observed with thematic analysis which included separating the stated information into several codes which encompassed the diagnostic odyssey. After thoroughly coding all interviews, six themes were identified: 1) The journey to hEDS can be long, complicated and frustrating, a proper diagnosis can be reliving and validating, self-advocacy is crucial, coping with hEDS requires many tools in the toolbox, doctors can make or break the hEDS experience for patients and hEDS impacts mental health just as much as physical health. This study has highlighted important issues that patients with hEDS commonly experience while living with hEDS and validates the difficulty that comes along with an hEDS diagnosis. From this study, we can recognize the importance of advocacy and coping skills in order to medically and mentally manage an hEDS diagnosis. We also see a necessity for medical providers to be properly educated of the manifestations of hEDS in order to reduce the diagnostic timeline and medical gaslighting that the patient experiences
How Gender Inequality Drives the Human Trafficking Industry
Get PDFThere are currently more than 40 million people subjected to human trafficking worldwide. People living under forced servitude and sexual exploitation, people in forced marriages, and child soldiers are victims of human trafficking. Research has shown that 71% of these victims are women and girls, making human trafficking a disproportionately gendered issue. However, does gender impact trafficking as a whole? The crux of this study uses a literature review, a comprehensive summary, and a critical analysis of existing works on a specific topic to understand how gender inequality relates to human trafficking. This study will also include a correlation test with the main variables being a country\u27s gender development index score and human trafficking rating from the Global Organized Crime Index to run a correlational study. A country’s gender development index score comes from the difference between men\u27s and women\u27s achievements in three categories: health, education, and command over economic resources. This aims to gain evidence from multiple studies to better understand the knowledge already identified and the gaps in current research. From the evidence taken from the literature review, we can expect that countries with higher gender inequality index scores will have high rates of human trafficking. The study showed a moderate positive correlation between gender inequality and human trafficking rates. The research on gender and trafficking is limited. Still, it is crucial to research this issue further to widen people\u27s understanding of human trafficking and the implications gender inequality has on trafficking to protect individuals better and combat trafficking every day
Polyphenol-Protein Interactions in Pigmented Cereals – a Clean-Label Approach to Tailor Starch Viscosity
No full textViscosity plays an important role in the food industry as it affects the quality, processing stability, and shelf-life of food and impacts physiological responses such as satiation and satiety. Greater viscosity reduces food intake by increasing the perception of satiety, primarily by delaying gastric emptying and increasing tactile stimulation. Starch is commonly added to food products as a viscosifying ingredient, which often involves chemically modifying the starch via cross-linking, to enhance its resistance to high shear, temperature and acidity. However, chemically modified starches are not “clean-label” ingredients due to the use of toxic chemicals. Therefore, further exploration is needed to develop starch-based ingredients that are solely comprised of natural and chemical-free components while preserving the functional characteristics of chemically modified starch. Recent research demonstrated that polyphenols enhance starch viscosity by interacting with proteins, highlighting their role as natural cross-linkers. Pigmented cereals are a good source of polyphenols, which interact with endosperm proteins to affect the pasting and rheological properties of starch. Nevertheless, the nature and extent of their interactions, as affected by polyphenol and protein classes, are unknown. The present study aimed to elucidate the nature and extent of polyphenol-protein interactions and their role in the viscosity development of rice and sorghum of varying bran colors. The covalent and non-covalent nature of polyphenol-protein interactions in pigmented and non-pigmented rice and sorghum and their effects on pasting properties, were studied using chemical agents and at different pH environments. The changes in molecular weight and size, and the secondary and tertiary structures of proteins, as affected by polyphenol class and concentration, were monitored via sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), high performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC), circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD), and fluorescence spectroscopy, respectively. The viscosity development and protein structure were influenced by both polyphenol class and concentration. A low anthocyanin concentration in milled purple rice increased peak viscosity, and high anthocyanin levels in parboiled whole grain purple rice enhanced viscoelastic properties in an acidic environment due to the formation of covalent cross-links with glutelin. Black sorghum exhibited less breakdown in various pH environments as a result of hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions between proanthocyanidins and prolamin. Polyphenol-protein interactions naturally enhanced and stabilized starch viscosity in both neutral and acidic environments, similar to chemically cross-linked starch, demonstrating their potential as clean-label ingredients with viscosifying and satiety-enhancing properties
Survival Signature Estimation for All-Terminal Networks by Solving the Multi-Objective Bottleneck Spanning Tree Problem
Get PDFThis research examines the problem of estimating the survival signature of all-terminal networks using Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. Following a recent similar result for twoterminal networks, we show that the work required within each MC replication corresponds to solving a multi-objective bottleneck spanning tree (MOBST) problem. We implement the resulting MC procedure using a “Blocks” algorithm from the literature to solve the MOBST in each replication by identifying its minimal set of non-dominated points. We compare this implementation against intuitive benchmark procedures for completing the work within an MC replication. We conduct numerical experiments to assess the efficacy of multi-objective optimization algorithms in expediting survival signature estimation for network structures. Our focus is to determine if these advanced computational strategies can significantly reduce the time complexity inherent in large-scale network analyses