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Impact of Traumatic Brain Injury on Astrocytic Tau Pathology in Drosophila melanogaster
No full textThe protein tau is involved in the pathology of neurodegeneration through development
into aggregates by abnormal hyperphosphorylation events. Tau is mostly expressed in neurons,
but tau pathology in glial cells is seen as a hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is known to enhance this formation of tau aggregates and relative
toxicity from its expression in neurons and glia. While there are emerging discoveries
surrounding the relationship between tau and TBI, the time point/exposure level in which TBI
can incite robust aggregation and toxicity has not been explored in a cell-type specific disease
model. In this study, we used Drosophila melanogaster as a model of tau overexpression in
astrocytes, a major glial cell of the brain. We then exposed flies to various amounts of TBI at
various time points within their lifespan. We found that there was no difference in the presence
of tau aggregates at day 10, but there was a significantly higher mortality index at the same time
point in flies that were hit on four of the 10 days compared to flies hit on day 9 and flies that
were not hit at all. We found that flies hit on day 9 had significantly higher tau pathology at day
30 than flies hit later in life. Additionally, we saw that the females hit day 9 had significantly
higher tau pathology at day 30 compared to males with the same TBI exposure. We also saw a
decreased lifespan up to day 60 in flies hit multiple times compared to hit once or not at all.
These data suggests that toxicity is not linked to aggregate presence, and the tau toxicity
associated with the increase in mortality for flies who experienced multiple hits should be
explored.Neuroscience and Behavio
Exploring the Role of the Protein-Kinase McsB in the ClpC/MicA Protein Degradation System During Bacillus subtilis Sporulation
No full textThis thesis examines the potential for the protein kinase McsB to work within a protein degradation system consisting of the AAA+ protease ClpC and the novel adaptor MicA which is hypothesized to be at work during sporulation and metabolic shutdown. This hypothesis is explored through a gene knockout of mcsB and multiple assays to ascertain the phenotype of the resulting strain. Overall, it appears as though mcsB knockout strains perform at similar levels to wild type and McsB is not likely a crucial component of this system.Biological Science
Potential Avian Predators of Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus): A Study at Fire Island, NY
No full textThe Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) is a federally-threatened shorebird that relies on nesting habitat along the Atlantic Coast, including in New York. A variety of management strategies to protect nesting plovers at Fire Island, NY, target mammalian predation, but the impact of avian predation remains largely unknown. During the summer of 2022, at Robert Moses State Park (RMSP) and the National Park Service (NPS) Lighthouse, I recorded abundance and behavior of raptors, gulls, corvids, blackbirds, and shorebirds of other species (i.e., Ruddy Turnstone, Arenaria interpres, and American Oystercatcher, Haematopus palliatus) that are known or suspected to take (predate upon) Piping Plover adults, chicks, or eggs. This work was as part of the Virginia Tech Shorebird Program’s annual monitoring of plovers on Fire Island. Before the chicks can fly at around 25 days of age and are considered fledged, they are especially vulnerable to predation.
During routine monitoring activities, I made instantaneous counts of potential avian predators while in plover nesting areas from early June to mid-August and recorded their habitat (e.g., intertidal, wrack line, dry sand), behavior (e.g., loafing, foraging), and flock size. Gulls were the most abundant potential avian predator and were observed daily (Great Black-backed Gull, Larus marinus = 122.1 birds/day; Herring Gull, L. argentatus = 58.0 birds/day; and Lesser Black-backed Gull, L. fuscus = 35.5 birds/day), though VTSP researchers and I detected little evidence of gulls taking plovers in 2022. Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) were seen infrequently (0.3 birds/day), but were observed hunting nesting shorebirds, including confirmed takes of plovers.
Based on my observations, I constructed a map of avian predator density across the area monitored in relation to locations of Piping Plover nests and broods for the months surveyed. Overall, the density of potential avian predators increased throughout July and August, likely as these species finished breeding and dispersed. To investigate the impact of avian predator abundance on chick survival before fledging, I modeled the probability of chick disappearance prior to fledge using avian predator abundance and hatch date as explanatory variables. I predicted that avian predators with more evidence of predation on plovers would have a larger negative effect on chick survival. This model should also aid our understanding of whether certain types of avian predators have a larger effect on chick mortality than others. In this study, I characterized the avian predator community present at Robert Moses SP and the NPS Lighthouse and begin to clarify the impact of these avian predators on chick survival. Understanding the species, numbers, and distribution of avian predators present can inform future management decisions.Biological Science
Can't Help but Help: Should We Praise Good Deeds that Result from Mental Illnesses?
No full textWe hesitate to blame kleptomaniacs for stealing. Should we be similarly hesitant to praise people for doing good deeds if their actions are motivated by similar compulsions? My thesis project considers how to evaluate good deeds that are caused by mental illness. Specifically, I will focus on Scrupulosity OCD. Scrupulosity is a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder in which rather than feeling the urge to do something like wash their hands, the patient has the compulsion to help other people. Mental illnesses like this can cause conflicting intuitions when it comes to assigning praise. For example, if someone donates 30% of their income to charity because they want to help other people, it seems like we should praise them strongly. But if we find out they have Scrupulosity OCD and felt compelled to make donations, we might want to avoid praising their compulsive behavior.
My project seeks to resolve these conflicting intuitions. I will start by confirming that it is possible to perform good deeds as a result of mental illness, and I will then carefully dismiss the possibility that such deeds can warrant neither praise nor blame due to mentally ill people having ‘no choice.’ Next, I will explore one influential account of praiseworthiness in which, roughly, a person is praiseworthy if they do the right thing for the right reasons. From this account, we might expect Scrupulous people not to be praiseworthy, but I discovered the opposite result: it follows from this account that a good deed resulting from Scrupulosity OCD is actually more praiseworthy than one that is not compulsive. I do not consider this a desirable result. Accordingly, I propose a way to alter the account to return a more plausible result: compulsive and non-compulsive actions are, in some circumstances, equally praiseworthy. I will finally conclude that when good deeds caused by Scrupulosity OCD are as praiseworthy as non-compulsive good deeds, it is because the person’s good deeds and the compulsions that caused them are an accurate reflection of that person’s real (praiseworthy) values.Philosoph
Dèyè mòn gen mòn: Geographies of Colonization and Resistance
No full textIn the indigenous language Taíno, Haiti or Ayiti, means "land of mountains." Haiti is an island two-thirds of which are covered by the mountainous topography of les mornes. Taking this specific geography as a starting point, this interdisciplinary thesis brings together history, French and Haitian Studies in an exploration of the ways that the landscape of Haiti played a crucial role in the history of the country. Starting with pre-colonial history, through the colonization by the Spanish then the French, and after the revolution that led to its independence in 1804, the history of Haiti is also the history of its land, of how it was used, imagined, conquered, domesticated, forgotten. This investigation studies how the landscape, especially the mountainous regions, played a role in both French colonization and in the resistance of enslaved peoples and Maroons leading up to the revolution of 1791. It includes a discussion of the critical role of agriculture in the colonial system that created the most profitable colony in the French empire, exploring the geographies of the colonial empire in juxtaposition with the geographies of resistance. As well as a physical and material analysis, it also discusses symbolic means of controlling the land and the ideologies surrounding the concepts of landscape and geography in terms of cartography, economy, politics, and religion, showing how these representations offer both a form of oppression and a means of subversion.Frenc
Zone Zero: Black Womxn Assemblaging an Artful Life
No full textHave you ever had the experience of watching yourself being watched? Maybe you changed how you walked or ate your food as a result. This behavior demonstrated the internalization of surveillance. The purpose of my project is to explore this process in an attempt to learn how to break the habit of self-surveillance. Specifically, Black women whose movements are surveilled by both the inner and public eye. How can you move more freely in a world blinded by light as a dark human being? This thesis pivots to conjure how Black womxn can live in a world without choosing select spaces where they can express subjectivity. The goal is not to develop a toolkit to help Black womxn subvert the system that continuously rejects their humanity. Instead, the goal is to create sovereignty in all places, free of restrictions, and eradicate the self-discipline of self (and thus state surveillance) as a whole. As a result, this exploratory thesis will utilize a womanist framework to deepen the analysis of visual art interventions and offer holistic takeaways to society.Critical Social Though
AN INVESTIGATION OF THE STABILITY AND STRUCTURE OF POLY(VINYL ALCOHOL) THIN FILMS ON POLYDIMETHYLSILOXANE
No full textThe hydrophilization of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH) thin films has been studied to utilize hydrophilic materials in PDMS-based micro- and nanomanufactured devices more effectively. Previous studies have determined that PVOH spontaneously adsorbs from aqueous solution onto hydrophobic substrates due to the hydrophobic effect. Following spontaneous adsorption, PVOH thin films are stabilized via crystallization driven by hydrogen bonding.
PVOH thin films can also be prepared via adsorptive spin coating on flat substrates. We have found that the PVOH-PDMS system varies from the well-established Meyerhofer model, which predicts film thickness from spin rate, solution viscosity (polymer concentration), and other variables. We proposed a new model to describe film thickness (h) from spin coating, which includes polymer-substrate interactions (spontaneous adsorption) and polymer-polymer interactions (e.g., crystallization and the hydrophobic effect). We hypothesized that these two types of interactions form the h1 and h2 thicknesses of the multilayered spin-coated PVOH-PDMS thin films. However, recent evidence has shown that the structure of polymer thin films is even more complex and nuanced.
In this study, we continue to elucidate the complex structure and dynamics of PVOH-PDMS thin films via static adsorption, adsorptive spin coating, and water annealing experiments. We use PDMS polymers of various molecular weights (MWs) (PDMS340, MW = 340 Da; PDMS2k, MW = 2 kDa; PDMS9k, MW = 9.430 kDa; PDMS49k, MW = 49.350 kDa) since the PDMS polymers vary in hydrophobicity and mobility. We also study two different PVOH polymers (PVOH88%H, MW = 85-124 kDa, 87-89% hydrolyzed; PVOH99%H, MW = 89-98 kDa, 99+% hydrolyzed) since the PVOH polymers vary in hydrophobicity and crystallinity. We vary the time before water annealing (0 h vs. 24 h) to determine the stability of partially dry vs. completely dry films. We characterize film thickness, wettability, and morphology to identify changes in the PVOH thin film layers.
We can separate the spontaneously-adsorbed h1 layer into sublayers: a tightly-bound h1 layer and a loosely-bound h1 layer. The tightly-bound h1 layer is first formed when PVOH adsorbs onto the PDMS substrate and is resistant to desorption in water. We found evidence of this layer on almost all of the PVOH-PDMS systems in this study. The only exception was the PVOH99%H-PDMS340 system, in which the hydrophobicity of the substrate and the polymer were insufficient to drive spontaneous adsorption. The loosely-bound h1 layer is formed on top of the tightly-bound h1 layer and is desorbed during water annealing. We found evidence of this layer on PDMS9k substrates alone. While a hydrophobic substrate is generally sufficient to form a tightly-bound PVOH h1 layer, it is insufficient at forming a loosely-bound h1 layer.Chemistr
Seasonal and yearly trends of fecal coliform across four different land use types in Skagit County, Washington
No full textFecal coliform pollution in watersheds puts human health at risk. In
watersheds with mixed land use, it is hard to distinguish pollution sources. In
Skagit County, Washington, elevated fecal coliform levels have led to public
beach closures and shellfish harvesting closures. Different sources of fecal
coliform pollution in Skagit County include agricultural runoff, mismanaged
livestock and domestic waste, faulty septic systems, and stormwater runoff.
Identifying specific pollution sources is difficult, but a broader analysis of fecal
coliform trends in different land use areas will help guide mitigation efforts. In
this paper, sampling sites were categorized into four different land use types:
rural, marine, residential, and commercial. Using four long term monitoring
datasets, yearly and seasonal trends were detected. Rural sites, including
agricultural land, had predictable seasonal patterns with high fecal coliform in the
summer and low fecal coliform in the winter. Conversely, marine areas had high
fecal coliform in the winter and low fecal coliform in the summer. The seasonal
trends identified in this paper can help inform future planning and strategies to
reduce fecal coliform pollution in different land use areas in Skagit County,
WashingtonBiological Science
Beyond the Boundaries: Depicting Multiracial and Queer Identities in And/Or
No full textThis thesis was for a major called Mixed Media Storytelling (Creative Writing, Film, Music, and Theatre)This is a senior thesis film (accompanied by a thesis paper) about the intersectionality of being multiracial and queer. The film follows a queer, multiracial girl named Diya as she attempts to explore her sexuality while reckoning with her South Asian heritage, and ultimately learns that she can cherish her multiraciality and queerness at the same time without having to choose one. This film should speak to other multiracial, queer, and multiracial & queer individuals like myself who feel that we deserve more representation in media, and the chance to advocate for our beautiful and multifaceted identities.Other or Special Majo
Breaking the Cycle: In search of progressive representations of masculinity in Elena Ferrante's L'amica geniale
No full textA great part of the scholarship surrounding the novels of the mysterious Italian author Elena Ferrante, including her best-selling quadrilogy My Brilliant Friend (originally published in Italian as L’amica geniale between 2011 and 2014), focuses on her unique writing of the feminine experience, her ability to reveal less-considered aspects of maternity, female friendship, and love. Ferrante’s prioritization of the feminine experience is particularly significant considering that most of her writing is set in the traditional and patriarchal society of Naples. Thus, it is fitting that most literary criticism of her work analyzes the masculine experience and the actions of male characters almost exclusively in terms of how they impact the female protagonists.
The aim of my thesis is to extend the field of Ferrante Studies by instead considering masculinity as its focal point in a comprehensive study of the masculine experience in L’amica geniale. I argue that even the dominating class in the patriarchal society of Naples, the men, are restricted to a certain model of behavior or self-identity and thus struggle equally or in some cases even more to liberate themselves from societal pressures. After noting an almost uniformly negative fate of the male characters in My Brilliant Friend this research aimed to discover whether male characters who broke this mold existed in the tetralogy, and, upon identifying them, to understand what made them different and how exactly they broke that cycle.
Incorporating primary textual evidence from Ferrante’s quadrilogy as well as the research of numerous scholars from Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, this thesis demonstrates that, despite the relative uniformity of toxic masculinity in the books’ primary setting, and despite the many environmental and hereditary factors which trap the male characters in a seemingly unending cycle of violence, Ferrante has in fact created two male characters who succeed in liberating themselves from the weight of their cultural burdens. By identifying and analyzing these two male anomalies, this thesis identifies the small beacon of hope, the “blind spot” in Ferrante’s bleak portrayal of the male experience in southern Italy. Ferrante demonstrates that even in such a violent environment as the rione, a place generally resistant to change or individuality, there is always a way, and in fact more than one, to liberate oneself from one’s seemingly fixed destiny.Italia