Quaker Interpretation: The Role of Communication and Identity in the Production of Quaker Values

In this thesis, I examine the shift in Quaker language use over time, focusing on the formation of group identity, the accessibility of Quaker language, and legacy and silence in a history of racial discrimination. These aspects of Quaker practice are crucial in addressing concerns about inclusivity and justice work, providing the potential for greater metalinguistic intentionality. My research analyzes language\u27s role in shaping such attitudes, beliefs, and action. I examine seventeenth century Quakers’ use of Quaker Plain Speech (QPS), observing that the progression towards modern Quaker language is uneven among these three areas of focus. I claim that these new uses of language need to be comprehensively studied and understood in order to encourage communal reflection in Quaker spaces

Care for the Land: Restoration as Interspecies Care Labor and Emergent Activism at the Hawaiian Fishpond-scape

In the last two decades, environmental NGOs on the islands of Hawai’I have been leading efforts to restore traditional land practices and foodways, among them fishpond, or loko i’a, which are traditional aquaculture infrastructures that ensure a stable production of fish protein. This ethnographic study of loko i’a restoration projects is informed by four months of fieldwork grounded in participant observation at Paepae O He’eia, a non-profit organization on the windward side of O’ahu heading the restorative effort at He’eia fishpond. My thesis addresses the ethics of care, labor, and Indigenous worldmaking emerging from ecological and cultural restoration of fishponds that have been neglected and disrepaired due to colonialism and climate disasters. The project explores fishpond restoration at He’eia to understand their centrality for community building for all beings, for human and other-than human actors, as well as creating more expansive frameworks of Indigenous sovereignty and activism. By investigating the role and contradictions of environmental “care” practices, I illuminate multispecies collaborative survival, resistance, and Indigenous world-making practices in the age of the Anthropocene

Using Capillary Electrophoresis to Quantify Competitive Binding of Adsorbates to Silver Nanoparticles

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are increasingly used commercially and medically due to their antimicrobial and antibacterial properties. With increased use comes increased release of AgNPs into the environment, and once released, AgNPs can form coronas with molecules ranging from biomolecules to proteins to natural organic matter (NOM). The molecules in the corona adsorb to the surface of the AgNPs, drastically altering their innate properties such as cytotoxicity and binding behavior. In this study, we characterize and quantify model AgNP-adsorbate systems by obtaining their relevant reaction parameters through three different affordable analytical techniques, including dynamic light scattering (DLS), UV-vis spectroscopy, and capillary electrophoresis (CE). Citrate-stabilized AgNPs with hydrodynamic diameters of 10 nm, 20 nm and 40 nm were used in this work. Kₐ values of AgNPs reacting with a model protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and a model NOM, Suwannee River humic acid (SRHA), were individually quantified using UV-vis spectroscopy. Nonequilibrium capillary electrophoresis of equilibrium mixtures (NECEEM) was also employed to obtain binding and rate constants pertaining to the individual reactions and compared with the values acquired through UV-vis spectroscopy. The AgNP size was shown to have an indirect relationship with their reactivity, with smaller AgNPs having higher Kₐ values. There was also remarkable agreement between the two quantitative analyses, validating the use of the novel NECEEM technique for use in other NP corona complexes. DLS was used to characterize the initial nanoparticles as well as those with a formed corona, and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy was used to monitor protein conformational changes upon adsorption of BSA to AgNPs and interaction with SRHA. Subsequently, in a field dominated by single adsorbate studies of the AgNP coronas, we strived to take this study a step further and investigate multiple adsorbate systems. Thus, a new CE-based pull-down assay was developed and optimized for quantitative analysis of the relative reactivity of multiple adsorbates interacting with AgNPs. Using this new technique, SRHA was found to decrease the amount of BSA adsorbed to AgNPs in solution across all sizes. Smaller sized AgNPs seemed to favor BSA adsorption over SRHA, but as the size of the AgNP increased, the affinity seemed to shift to favoring the adsorption of SRHA

Rise of Meritocracy Under The No Child Left Behind Act: A Look Into NCLB’s Effects on Low-Income Students

This paper uses the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to analyze the rise of meritocracy in American public education and its effect on low-income, minority students. NCLB grew out of a global need to produce, compete and innovate, and the public education infrastructure was used to manufacture workers. Schools focused on categorizing students by test scores and placing students on different educational, economic, and career paths. Success under meritocracy is individualist and disregards the systems of inequality that determine the losers and winners. Minority students are blamed for their lack of success instead of examining outside factors that dictate their living conditions. Meritocracy does not promote upward mobility for low-income, minority students; it abandons them in favor of students who have the luxury and luck to compete in the game of education. Schools should teach based on respect, equity, and fairness in place of a merit-based approach

Common Interests Without Common Expertise: Reflections On Early-Career Experiences In Cross-Disciplinary Research

Cross-disciplinary research enables us to tackle complex problems that require expertise from different fields. Such collaborations involve researchers who have different perspectives, communication styles, and knowledge bases, and can produce results far greater than the sum of their parts. However, in an era of increasing scientific specialization, there exist many barriers for students and early-career researchers (ECRs) interested in training and undertaking interdisciplinary research endeavors. This perspective examines the challenges that students and ECRs perceive and experience in cross-disciplinary work and proposes pathways to create more inclusive and welcoming research environments. This work emerges from a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded workshop held during the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) Annual Meeting in January 2023 in Austin, TX. The workshop brought together seasoned interdisciplinary scientists with undergraduate and graduate students to identify and discuss perceived challenges through small group discussions and experience sharing. Through summarizing a range of student concerns about embarking on careers as interdisciplinary scientists and identifying ways to dismantle institutional and lab management-level barriers, we aim to promote an inclusive and collaborative problem-solving environment for scientists of all experience levels

A Simple Method For Quantifying Blastema Growth In Regenerating Planarians

Due to their strong regenerative capabilities, freshwater planarians are a well-suited model system for studying the effects of chemicals on stem cell biology and regeneration. After amputation, a planarian will regenerate the missing body parts within 1 to 2 weeks. Because planarians have a distinct head morphology that can be easily identified, head and eye regeneration has been a popular qualitative measure of toxicity. However, qualitative measures can only detect strong defects. Here, we present protocols for quantifying the rate of blastema growth to measure regeneration defects for assessment of chemical toxicity. Following amputation, a regenerative blastema forms at the wound site. Over the course of several days, the blastema grows and subsequently re-forms the missing anatomical structures. This growth can be measured by imaging the regenerating planarian. As the blastema tissue is unpigmented, it can be easily distinguished from the remaining pigmented body using standard image analysis techniques. Basic Protocol 1 provides a step-by-step guide for imaging regenerating planarians over several days of regeneration. Basic Protocol 2 describes the necessary steps for the quantification of blastema size using freeware. It is accompanied by video tutorials to facilitate adaptation. Basic Protocol 3 shows how to calculate the growth rate using linear curve fitting in a spreadsheet. The ease of implementation and low cost make this procedure suitable for an undergraduate laboratory teaching setting, in addition to typical research settings. Although we focus on head regeneration in Dugesia japonica, these protocols are adaptable to other wound sites and planarian species

A G4 Approach To Computing The Hammett Substituent Constants σₚ, σₘ, σ⁻, σ⁺, And σ⁺ₘ

By performing appropriate empirical scaling of G4 energy differences, it is possible to calculate Hammett substituent constants σₚ, σₘ, σ⁻, σ⁺, and σ⁺ₘ with a typical accuracy (mean absolute error) of ±0.1. The procedure is straightforward and easily carried out by non-experts using the Gaussian software package. Values are provided for 41 substituents of widely varying electronic character, including some reactive species for which experimental values are unavailable. Additionally, comparison of calculated and experimental values suggests that some previously published numbers might be significantly in error, particularly for some ionic, acidic, and/or basic substituents. Values are also provided for a newly defined substituent constant, σ⁻ₘ

Conformation Of Influenza AM2 Membrane Protein In Nanodiscs And Liposomes

The influenza A M2 protein (AM2) is a multifunctional membrane-associated homotetramer that orchestrates several essential events in the viral infection cycle including viral assembly and budding. An atomic-level conformational understanding of this key player in the influenza life cycle could inform new antiviral strategies. For conformational studies of complex systems like the AM2 membrane protein, a multipronged approach using different biophysical methods and different model membranes is a powerful way to incorporate complementary data and achieve a fuller, more robust understanding of the system. However, one must be aware of how the sample composition required for a particular method impacts the data collected and how conclusions are drawn. In that spirit, we systematically compared the properties of AM2 in two different model membranes: nanodiscs and liposomes. Electron paramagnetic spectroscopy of spin-labeled AM2 showed that the conformation and dynamics were strikingly similar in both AM2-nanodiscs and AM2-liposomes consistent with similar conformations in both model membranes. Analysis of spin labeled lipids embedded in both model membranes revealed that the bilayer in AM2-liposomes was more fluid and permeable to oxygen than AM2-nanodiscs with the same lipid composition. Once the difference in the partitioning of the paramagnetic oxygen relaxation agent was taken into account, the membrane topology of AM2 appeared to be the same in both liposomes and nanodiscs. Finally, functionally relevant AM2 conformational shifts previously seen in liposomes due to the addition of cholesterol were also observed in nanodiscs

The Desert A City: A Study of Antony the Great’s Life

This paper attempts to provide an insight of asceticism and its development in Egypt through the literal work Athanasius\u27s Life of Antony. It sets out to explain how the peculiar geography and environment in Egypt contributed to the development of asceticism and how the practices of St. Antony reflected the contemporary ideas on soul and body