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Zika Virus: Unrealistic Restrictions on Women's Health
No full textThis week on War News Radio, we report on the epidemic of the Zika virus in Latin America
Interview with Burtt Richardson '56 by Krista Oldham
No full textInterview was conducted May 27, 2016 for Haverford College's 2016 Alumni Weekend Event: Sharing Our Stories: Voices from Haverford College, Scarlet Sages Series. Interviews took place in the Group Study Room in Magill Library, Haverford Colleg
Elucidating the mechanisms of blister localization in bli-5 mutant Caenorhabditis elegans
No full textIn C. elegans, the gene bli-5 encodes a serine-protease inhibitor that is responsible for blocking the proteases nas-36 and nas-37, both of which are involved in ecdysis and cuticle assembly during molting. Mutations in bli-5 result in the formation of fluid-filled blisters along the cuticle of the worm. In contrast to mutations in the 5 other genes that result in the blistered phenotype, blisters caused by defects in bli-5 form only on the head of the worm. Transcriptional analysis of bli-5 has shown that it is expressed at high levels in a singular cell within the C. elegans excretory system. Fluorescence microscopy demonstrated that this is the gland cell, which is a binucleate syncytium responsible for production and secretion of unknown intracellular molecules. Secretions from the gland cell have been implicated in molting in the nematode Phocanema decipiens, corroborating the findings that bli-5 would be produced and secreted from this cell. In a separate experiment, RNAi bacteria and mutant worms were used to create worms deficient in both nas-36 and nas-37. Single-mutants in either of these genes results in a cuticle-dragging phenotype, indicating that the two genes do not have entirely redundant functions. In order to better understand the individual functions of nas-36 and nas-37, we examined the aforementioned double-knockout worms to assess viability and molting function, determining that molting function was still preserved, although the growth of the worm was delayed significantly. This implicates both nas-36 and nas-37 as having important roles in shedding the cuticle, but more importantly indicates that they are not the only proteases involved in removing old cuticle during ecdysis, as molting still occurs in the absence of both genes. To better understand the molting process, characterization of the other genes involved in ecdysis and their regulators would be immensely beneficial
Investigating Decision-Making in Larval Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Through Multi-Sensory Integration in the Startle Response Circuit
No full textWhen presented with a sudden sensory stimulus, all organisms will perform a startle response. This defensive reflex is a well-conserved behaviour that is studied in many organisms. In zebrafish, Danio rerio, the startle response is a rapid muscle contraction that initiates an escape response. Zebrafish select between two different startle responses given how threatening they perceive the stimulus. Previous studies have used acoustic stimuli to provoke these different startle responses, and investigate how zebrafish select one response over the other. These studies have limited themselves by focusing on single-sensory inputs as they affect decision-making in the startle response circuit. In this study, I investigate the role that the visual system plays in acoustic decision-making. I introduce rearing larval zebrafish in conditions of various light exposures as a method to affect visual system development. Then, through presenting acoustic stimuli to the zebrafish in behavioural assays, I show that fish raised in different lighting conditions have distinct sensitivities to acoustic stimuli, and they show discrepancy in what they consider threatening stimuli. My results suggest that visual input affects acoustic decision-making in larval zebrafish. My study provides further understanding of decision-making in zebrafish through multi-sensory integration at a behavioural and circuit level
Constructing Memory: Rewriting History through the Dances of Umfundalai
No full textUmfundalai is a contemporary African dance form that was created by Dr. Kariamu\ud
Welsh, an African-American scholar and artist. The word Umfundalai translates to \ud
essence, and was established in 1970 during the Black Arts Movement in the U.S. As \ud
such, Umfundalai is largely a reaction for a desire for heightened visibility and \ud
awareness around African art forms.\ud
Welsh continued to develop this technique by researching and learning different forms \ud
of traditional dances from throughout the African diaspora, reinterpreting both their \ud
form and context and reforming them into a technique that could be practiced and \ud
performed. This technique has been largely utilized by Welsh’s own dance company, \ud
known as Kariamu & Company, and it is taught at different universities as part of dance \ud
curriculums that include African dance. This thesis aims to understand the ways that \ud
Kariamu Welsh understands and utilizes the processes of the African diaspora by \ud
presenting a particular African identity through the dance. Although she claims to \ud
express an essence of the African diaspora through Umfundalai, Umfundalai is not a \ud
combination of African dances but rather its own interpretation of African performance \ud
and history. As such, Umfundalai performs a selected memory of experiences that are \ud
accessed through the technique and choreography. It serves to reclaim memories that were previously inaccessible but recreates them into a form that is distinct as its own \ud
interpretation of the African diaspora. The diaspora is reimagined and redefined \ud
through this dance
Accessibility of Local Food in Vermont: The Challenges of Creating an Inclusive Food Movement
No full textBuilding strong communities is a core tenet of Vermont’s burgeoning local food\ud
movement. However, practical, structural, and cultural barriers make local foods less \ud
accessible to low income Vermonters. This paper explores these barriers to access, as \ud
well as the social capital that is generated by efforts to increase local food access. As the \ud
national food system exists today, poor people can afford calories, while those with \ud
more means have the opportunity to buy more wholesome, traceable food. Thus, \ud
inaccessibility of local foods is an issue of inequality. Within the historical context of \ud
policy-shaped food systems and markets, interventions to improve access to local foods \ud
in Vermont can be understood as deliberate community actions taken to shape a more \ud
just local economy. They are actions that attempt to foster the reforging of connection \ud
between low income consumers and their food, in spite of perverse policy structures \ud
that encourage monoculture, processing, and disconnection
Institutionalizing Imagination: The Philadelphia Museum of Art's Transition into a Twenty-First Century Institution
No full textInstitutionalizing Imagination utilizes the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) to\ud
understand how one United States-based art museum is transitioning to become a \ud
twenty-first century institution.\ud
Over the course of museums’ history there has been tension between the Art World’s \ud
theoretical understandings of art and the institutional goal of educating the public. \ud
Functioning as an imagined community, the Art World prides itself on having a limited \ud
number of sophisticated citizens, but a museum’s job today is to reach as many people \ud
as possible. As we move further away from twentieth century European models of \ud
museums as arbiters of taste and preservers of high culture, how is an institution like \ud
the PMA adjusting? Using the case study approach, this thesis takes a close look at \ud
International Pop, a special exhibition at the PMA and examines conditions under which \ud
the PMA labors and the possibilities for its future. With the success of International Pop, \ud
the thesis asks what are some lessons to be learned? Impossible to create a generalized\ud
how-to for museums, Institutionalizing Imagination considers a shift in the ways \ud
museums approach their audiences and are approached theoretically and critically