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EXPLORING THE BIOSYNTHETIC PATHWAY OF INDUCAMIDES A-C, NOVEL NATURAL PRODUCTS FROM MARINE BACTERIA
No full textCompounds derived from nature, known as “natural products” (NPs), comprise a significant part of today’s pharmaceutical arsenal. Advances in genome sequencing have revealed many cryptic bacterial biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) that go unexpressed under typical lab conditions. Here, a mini-review explores the diverse ecological roles of bacterial NPs in their environment, and how their expression is regulated by interspecies microbial interactions. This work also describes exploration of the biosynthetic pathway towards three silent natural products, inducamides A-C, indole alkaloids with particularly rare structural features. Heterologous expression of inducamides A and B in two host species conclusively linked the production of the compounds to the inducamide BCG. Bioinformatics analysis revealed several key enzymes involved in inducamide production, and a second inducamide producing species was discovered with a similar gene cluster. This work lays the foundation for understanding and alteration of the biosynthesis of these compounds with great biological potential
DEGREES OF SEPARATION: The Extent to Which American Voters Are Polarized Based On Their Educational Attainment
No full textIt is increasingly common in American political discourse to point to educational attainment as a major driver of American voters’ political polarization. Therefore, it is worth explaining foundational public opinion tenets, before diving into precursor questions such as “what is political polarization?” and “is political polarization a bad thing?”. The main focus of the literature review is the extent to which political polarization among American voters is either associated with or caused by their education attainment. Participation and race as explanatory variables is also discussed afterwards. Last, a pre-data collection hypothesis, research design methods, and relevant data are analyzed and interpreted in the final subsection. The data and analysis demonstrates that, while political polarization is increasingly associated, in part, with voters’ educational attainment, it is unlikely that educational attainment plays a causal role in political polarization
IDENTIFYING BIOMARKERS OF BREVETOXIN EXPOSURE IN THE NORTHERN QUAHOG METABOLOME WITH 1H NMR SPECTROSCOPY
No full textThe northern quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria Linnaeus, 1758) is heavily valued for its ability to filter excess nutrients from marine ecosystems, and as a delicacy in the shellfish aquaculture industry. However, humans may contract Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning from consuming northern quahogs that have accumulated toxins from the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis in their tissues, and current methods of toxin analysis are notoriously slow and inefficient. This study used 1H NMR spectroscopy to identify gill metabolites that may serve as immediate biomarkers of brevetoxin exposure in afflicted northern quahogs. A total of 70 adult northern quahogs were exposed to brevetoxin PbTx-2 for 24 hours, then subsequently dissected in order to extract metabolites from gill tissue. Samples were subjected to 1H NMR analysis after extraction was complete. Results showed that 18 metabolites significantly changed levels of expression after PbTx-2 exposure, including biotin (FC = 0.91), leucine (FC = 0.74), and taurine (FC = 0.80). Replicate studies should examine brevetoxin-induced metabolite changes in closely related clam species, as well as in juvenile northern quahogs
LOGOS SANCTUM: ENDLESS TOMES OF KNOWLEDGE YOU CREATE
No full textLogos Sanctum is a website for word learning that was inspired by a real life experience of learning new words using note cards and all of the hardships that came with it. Logos Sanctum was designed in a way that a user is able to add own words in a format of digital note cards in the format of a word card that displays a word, a language of this word, definition of this word, and a link to an online dictionary page with this word, and all of the information on the word cards is added by a user. Logos Sanctum is meant to use digital technology for features of word card addition, word card editing, and word card deletion that make a word learning experience easier and faster. Logos Sanctum was hosted on AWS and allowed authenticated users to create, edit, and delete their word cards. All users can only create and see their own word cards, and all of the word cards are displayed in a chronological order of addition where the newest word is on the top. Logos Sanctum has potential for being a free language learning platform for personalized word learning experience, and there are plenty of features that can be added that will further increase personalized learning
The Concept of Love and its Relation to Others in Existentialism
No full textDealing with the problem of self and others in existentialism has a key importance in self-knowledge and transcending self to reach the higher self. In a love relationship, however, the other takes a more important role, and where more than one person is involved in this relationship, the issue of the other becomes more complicated. Although one should prioritize one’s own freedom and surpass oneself, but when the other and others are present in the relationship, the person\u27s freedom will be conditioned to one’s willing others free. Regarding a love triangle, which is the theme of the play, one is violating others and one’s freedom, which one must overcome and by correcting one\u27s choice, in order to expand the future possibilities for oneself and others instead of limiting them
FASHION CONFRONTS THE GENDER BINARY: UNISEX, ANDROGYNOUS, AND QUEER APPROACHES IN CONTEMPORARY GENDERLESS FASHION
No full textThe rise in everyday feminism and other social justice movements over the past decade has resulted in an ever-widening call, aided by social media, to revolutionize representation in fashion. Similar to the 1960s and 70s emergence of unisex and androgynous fashion alongside the Women’s Liberation Movement, the contemporary fashion industry – particularly highfashion – is attempting to accompany and encourage gender revolution today. This thesis will examine three of the most popular industry approaches to circumventing traditional gendered expectations and perceptions of dress. Chapter One, entitled “Unisex Fashion: Removing Gender from the Equation,” calls attention to a unisex approach to genderless fashion that ultimately seeks to release the hold that gendered word choice have on dress and gender perception. In this chapter, I will argue that unisex fashion, as exemplified by the brand Telfar, prioritizes universality and equality within dress through the absence of gender labels, more nuanced attention to sizing, greater focus on personal expressivity, as well as by challenging the dominance of masculinity in mainstream genderless fashion. Although unisex is arguably the least transgressive form of contemporary genderless fashion presented in this analysis, Telfar demonstrates how this approach can serve as an accessible entry point into playing with gender codes: it eases consumers into this exploration without the pressure of gendered language or bold statements, while also being affirming to some gender-nonconforming individuals through the absence of gendered terminology. Chapter Two, entitled “Androgyny: Destabilizing ‘Feminine’ and ‘Masculine,’” will examine the androgynous approach to genderless fashion, which works to push back against gender norms within gendered categories, rewrite what constitutes contemporary menswear and womenswear, and popularize gender-nonconforming aesthetics within mainstream society. I argue that androgynous dress, as exemplified by the brand Gucci (under Alessandro Michele as creative director), promotes the disruption of traditional gender codes while retaining the binary categories of menswear and womenswear, embracing both gendered and gender-nonconforming usage and the transgressive use of dress among high-profile figures. Chapter Three, entitled “Genderqueer: Created for Gender-Fluid Expression,” will focus on a queer-centered approach to genderless fashion. In this chapter, I will argue that the brand Harris Reed exemplifies the ways in which a genderqueer-centered approach to genderless fashion invokes binary categories in order to subvert them, while engaging with queer culture and queer voices and seeking to amplify them within mainstream media. This approach in particular can benefit genderqueer individuals by acknowledging, encouraging, and affirming their experiences, while also working to disrupt binary expectations and encourage genderfluid expression in mainstream culture. Although each approach targets different concerns, they all ultimately work to disrupt and/or liberate people from dominant binary narratives that offer limited, socially constrained versions of femininity and masculinity
An Investigation into Harmful Algal Bloom Contributors
No full textThese projects span a two-year time period in which phytoplankton was sampled from Sarasota Bay. Samples were examined in order to find potential harmful algal bloom (HAB) contributors in addition to the commonly reported Karenia brevis. It was identified that both Gonyaulax and Pseudo-nitzschia genera found in The Bay could also be contributing to HAB events in Sarasota Bay. The first study (Chapter 1) spanned a year (2021) and looked at differences in the three groups\u27 distribution at three different sites. This study found that Gonyaulax is an abundant organism and could be contributing to the HABs in the area. The second study (Chapter 2) spanned from March to August (2022) and looked at the three groups spanning two transects across the width of The Bay. This showed that the three genera were abundant at background levels, under 1,000 cells/Liter. The geostatistical interpolation method of Bayesian Kriging showed that there was a heavier bloom of all three genera during June 2022. Future studies should continue expanding upon these two studies by continuing the time series monitoring of Sarasota Bay’s phytoplankton populations
BRAIN CONNECTIVITY AND MECHANORECEPTION IN MARINE MAMMALS
No full textMarine mammals returned to the water through several temporally separated lineages, each species adapting somatosensory mechanisms that allow them to locate and consume food. The species in this study have adapted to underwater environments through different modalities. Manatees, harbor seals, and sea otters all utilize mystacial vibrissae, while manatees also possess lightly scattered thin vibrissae over the entire body, and sea otters employ their sensitive paws for active touch. These sensory differences provide an interesting opportunity to compare and examine the neuroanatomy of mechanoreception in differentially adapted marine species. The brain reflects these adaptations, creating “pathways” formed by neuronal connectivity, with the ventral posterolateral nucleus (VPL) and ventral posteromedial nucleus (VPM) in the thalamus receiving mechanosensory information from the body. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to “mask” and visualize the tracts projecting from the VPL and VPM and calculate the strength of the connectivity between these thalamic nuclei and the brainstem. Results indicated significantly stronger connectivity in the sea otter brain compared to the manatee and harbor seal brains. This study examined the connections to the somatosensory thalamic nuclei in three different marine mammal species, assessing the strength of connections to the brain stem, and examining the destinations of cortical projections. This work serves to further the understanding of marine mammal neuroanatomy as a result of their mechanosensory adaptations
QUEERING CLASSICS: A DINNER PARTY WITH THE DEVIL, DRACULA, AND DANTE ALIGHIERI (HOSTED BY DR. HANNIBAL LECTER)
No full textFor my thesis project, I have compiled a portfolio of three essays on the NBC television series Hannibal (2013-2015). Chapter 1 employs queer theory for a religious studies analysis of the show\u27s characterization of Hannibal Lecter as the embodiment of Satan. Chapter 2 uses Jeffrey Jerome Cohen\u27s Seven Theses of Monster Culture as the framework with which to compare and contrast the evolving mythos of both Count Dracula and Dr. Hannibal Lecter, as part of a greater deconstruction on how they exemplify Western constructions of monstrosity across time. Finally, Chapter 3 delves into the series\u27 extensive allusions to Dante Alighieri\u27s work, particularly the Inferno of La Divina Comedia, as a means of examining the value of queering those literary works which are widely considered classics. In this context, I employ a definition of queering popularized by queer theorists such as Robert Mills, Jack Halberstam, and José Esteban Muñoz that associates the term with the academic or personal practice of seeking and evaluating representations of queerness within notable artistic works of the past, with “queerness” denoting anything that is potentially subversive to cisgender / heterosexual / patriarchal norms. As such classic works have been pivotal to the development of popular culture, their representations and ideas shape humanity’s ever-evolving expectations and understandings of what is normal or acceptable. Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal, I will argue, not only employs the ability to effectively and explicitly queer the works of Thomas Harris, but also subsequently provides audiences with a refreshingly authentic and multifaceted queer retrospective of the past, such as with the works of Bram Stoker or Dante Alighieri, writers whose publications are both considered to be timeless and – like the more contemporary writings of Thomas Harris – remain privy to recurrent adaptation and reboots in postmodern popular culture. My thesis concludes by examining how this queering of the past develops into an imagined potentiality for transgressive queer futurity that has positive real-life ramifications for Hannibal’s LGBTQ and otherwise marginalized viewership
DIVINE JUSTICE, HUMAN INJUSTICE: THE LEGAL BIFURCATION OF ISRAELI AND JEWISH LAW, ITS IMPACT ON THE PALESTINIAN CHILD, AND JUDAISM’S BIBLICAL OBLIGATION TO PROTECT THE NON-JEW
No full textLaw and human rights research regarding the Palestinian child has long focused on physical abuse by Israeli security forces and the Israeli state’s violation of international human rights law. A small but emergent field works to problematize the legal structures that enable the abuse of Palestinian children, critiquing both Israeli law and the international human rights structures that fail to adequately address such abuses. This thesis contributes to that body of research by examining the legal bifurcation of Israeli and Jewish law into “rules” and “exceptions.” Building upon the work of Heidi Viterbo, Orna Ben-Naftali and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, this thesis calls into question the human rights language and concept of protective child law, as utilized by Israel. Finding that the Israeli military court system is dominated by legal “exception” clauses, this work argues that a gauze of legality is created, allowing the circumvention of law that professes to restrict abuses against Palestinian children. This thesis provides alternative pathways to addressing accountability and examinations of human rights violations. Considering a Jewish ethical approach to the treatment of the non-Jew, this project turns to Jewish law, Halacha, only to discover a duplicate bifurcation between “rule” and “exception.” Re-examining Jewish legal interpretation, this thesis addresses the paradoxical nature of establishing definitive legal categories for the non-Jew. It presents both biblical text and contemporary Jewish commentary as routes for extending a biblical and legally Jewish obligation to protect the non-Jew. Ultimately, in both contemporary Israeli and ancient Jewish corpora of legal literature, “exceptional” interpretations and applications of law have been normalized, codified as the “norm.” In both spheres, this thesis questions the assumption of this law’s normality and insists upon an application of Jewish ethics to the struggle for legal equity faced by Palestinian children in the Occupied West Bank. This work takes an intentional turn away from current Western, secularized systems of accountability: reaching instead to a dialogue based on Jewish ethics and literature to provide accountability for the actions of Israel as a self-identifying Jewish state