STUDY OF THE CYGNUS REGION WITH FERMI AND HAWC

The Cygnus Cocoon is an extended source of high-energy gamma-ray emission in the Cygnus region. The gamma-ray emission has been attributed to a volume 50pc in diameter of freshly-accelerated particles near the Supernova Remnant γ Cygni which is located 1.4kpc from the solar system [Ackermann et al., 2011], [Tibaldo et al., 2013]. Since its discovery in 2011, Fermi LAT has improved their event reconstruction to allow analysis at higher energies, and recorded six additional years of data. An analysis was performed on the entire dataset to reproduce the previous results, then expand on them with higher energies and larger time spans of data. No evidence of temporal variability was found for the Cocoon. It was found that for the energy range of 1-870 GeV a logparabola spectrum is preferred over a powerlaw spectrum. Analysis is then done comparing the Cocoon spectrum measured using LAT data with a HAWC source [Hona et al., 2017] that is thought to be the Cocoon. It was found that the LAT powerlaw spectrum connects with the HAWC spectrum at 1 TeV, while the LAT powerlaw spectrum is an order of magnitude lower then the HAWC source. This means that for the combined analysis the powerlaw spectrum is prefered over the logparabola, if the HAWC source is the Cocoon

Claimed Co-ethnics and Kin-State Citizenship in Southeastern Europe

The paper introduces the often neglected concept of 'claimed co-ethnics' in the analysis of citizenship policies. It argues that this is an interstitial category that further complicates the triadic nexus between national minorities, nationalising states and kin-states. The 'claimed co-ethnics' are defined as people who are recognised by the citizenship (or ethnizenship) conferring state as belonging to its main ethnic group, although they themselves do not embrace that definition. In addition to bringing the issue of claimed co-ethnics into focus, the paper elucidates how citizenship policies can affect groups that challenge the exact fit between ethnicity and nation, showing how national governments through particular citizenship policies and categorisation practices engage in the construction of these groups. The paper shows that the triadic nexus framework, which has had a strong influence on citizenship and minorities scholarship, needs to be revised to include unidirectional relations between the elements of the triadic nexus. The paper is based on the comparison between the cases of ethnic Vlachs (in the context of Albania and Greece) and Bunjevci (in the context of Serbia and Croatia).European Commission - Seventh Framework Programme (FP7

Chemical characterization and bioactivities of sericin extracted from silkworm cocoons from two regions of Portuga

Along the years, sericin has been undervalued and discarded as waste from the textile silk industry. However, recent studies have shown that sericin has great potential for biomedical applications. The potential for medicinal applications depends on its physicochemical properties and molecular heterogeneity. In addition, the characteristics of sericin are influenced by its extraction method, its origin and the variety of cocoon. This work aimed to characterize the biochemical and bioactivities of sericin from Bragança and Castelo Branco. Sericin was extracted using the autoclave method, and its physicochemical properties were then characterized by analyzing its amino acid content by HPLC. In addition, its potential for antioxidant by TBARS and CAA assays, anti- inflammatory by NO inhibition, antimicrobial by microdilution method, anti-proliferative by SBR assay, and anticoagulant activities by APTT method was evaluated. In its pure state, sericin did not have a high content of free amino acids, with tyrosine being identified as the most abundant. On the other hand, when hydrolyzed sericin showed a higher content of amino acids and serine was the most abundant. In terms of bioactivities, the sericin tested did not show antioxidant or anti-inflammatory potential in the tests carried out. Despite this, it showed anti-proliferative activity in contact with human tumor cell lines and in non-tumor cell lines at a minimum concentration of 0.52 and 0.32 mg /mL, respectively. As far as antimicrobial activity is concerned, sericin proved capable of inhibiting the growth of the bacteria and fungi tested at concentrations between 5 and 10 mg/mL. Finally, sericin was also shown to be able to prolong the coagulation time in adult mice plasma, presenting anticoagulant potential. The sericin from Bragança and Castelo Branco, collected in 2019, did not differ greatly, differences in amino acid composition were identified. In addition, the sericin collected in Bragança in 2021 and 2022, S3 and S4, respectively, showed differences compared to the other samples and showed the best antiproliferative, antibacterial and anticoagulant potential. Additionally, there are also differences between extracted and commercial samples.Ao longo do tempo, a sericina foi desvalorizada e descartada como resíduo da indústria têxtil da seda, no entanto, estudos recentes comprovam o grande potencial da sericina em aplicações biomédicas. O potencial para aplicações medicinais depende das suas propriedades físico-químicas e heterogeneidade molecular. Além disso, as características da sericina são influenciadas pelo seu método de extração, a sua origem e a variedade do casulo. Este trabalho teve como objetivo a caracterização bioquímica e bioactiva da sericina com origem em Bragança e Castelo Branco. A sericina foi extraída através do método da autoclave, e, posteriormente as propriedades físico-químicas foram caracterizadas através da análise do teor de aminoácidos por HPLC. Além disso, foi avaliado o seu potencial para as atividades antioxidante pelos ensaios TBARS e CAA, anti-inflamatória pela inibição de NO, antimicrobiana pelo método da microdiluição, anti proliferativa pelo método SRB, e, anticoagulante pelo método APTT. No seu estado puro, a sericina não apresentou um grande teor de aminoácidos livres, tendo sido identificado como mais abundante a tirosina. Por outro lado, quando hidrolisada, a sericina apresentou um teor mais elevado, sendo a serina a mais abundante. Relativamente às bioatividades, a sericina testada não apresentou potencial antioxidante nem anti-inflamatória nos ensaios realizados. Apesar disso, apresentou atividade anti proliferativa em contacto com linhas celulares tumorais humanas e em linhas celulares não tumorais a uma concentração mínima de 0.52 e 0.32 mg /mL, respectivamente. Relativamente à atividade antimicrobiana, a sericina mostrou ser capaz de inibir o crescimento das bactérias e fungos testados para concentrações compreendidas entre 5 e 10 mg/ mL. A sericina também mostrou ser capaz de prolongar o tempo de coagulação em plasma de ratos adultos, apresentando potencial anticoagulante. Além disso, as sericinas de Bragança e Castelo Branco, de 2019, não diferiram muito, contudo foram identificadas diferenças na sua composição de aminoácidos. Por outro lado, a sericina recolhida em Bragança em 2021 e 2022, S3 e S4, respetivamente, apresentou diferenças em relação às outras amostras e apresentou o melhor potencial antiproliferativo, antibacteriano e anticoagulante. Adicionalmente, existem também diferenças entre as amostras extraídas e as comerciais. Palavras-chaveThis work was founded by the project Sericina: um resíduo da indústria da Seda com potencial biomédico (PTDC/BTA-BTA/0696/2020)

Noël Coward and the Sitwells: enmity, celebrity, popularity

In 1923, the year of the first public performance of Edith Sitwell and William Walton's Façade, Noël Coward satirized the Sitwell siblings in his sketch “The Swiss Family Whittlebot.” The result was an enduring feud between Coward and the Sitwells that shaped their celebrity personae and inflected responses to their work in the periodical press. They confronted each other across a class divide, and also across the perceived barrier between difficult modernism and accessible popular entertainment. Yet, in spite of these oppositional stances, certain convergences in their styles of writing and performance suggest a possible appeal to a shared audience. The interconnectedness of Coward's work with Edith Sitwell's, in particular, can be discerned on the level of literary style, influences, and parodic strategies

Gendered Language and the Science of Colonial Silk

This article uses pronominal resilience to suggest how we can identify women's contributions to the colonial silk industry. By comparing different editions of silkworm treatises, all of which were published between 1650-1655 and circulated within the Hartlib Circle's circum-Atlantic network of readers (Bermuda, Germany, England, Ireland, Virginia), I find a pattern in the gendered language of the texts. Books that describe worms grown by women use feminine pronouns (she/her) to classify worms throughout the lifecycle, while books that describe worms grown by men begin with masculine pronouns (he/his) and become feminine (she/her) when the worms become reproductive in the third stage of the lifecycle

Fit for purpose? Fitting ontological security studies 'into' the discipline of International Relations : towards a vernacular turn

The performance of International Relations (IR) scholarship – as in all scholarship – acts to close and police the boundaries of the discipline in ways that reflect power–knowledge relations. This has led to the development of two strands of work in ontological security studies in IR, which divide on questions of ontological choice and the nature of the deployment of the concept of dread. Neither strand is intellectually superior to the other and both are internally heterogeneous. That there are two strands, however, is the product of the performance of IR scholarship, and the two strands themselves perform distinct roles. One allows ontological security studies to engage with the ‘mainstream’ in IR; the other allows ‘international’ elements of ontological security to engage with the social sciences more generally. Ironically, both can be read as symptoms of the discipline’s issues with its own ontological (in)security. We reflect on these intellectual dynamics and their implications and prompt a new departure by connecting ontological security studies in IR with the emerging interdisciplinary fields of the ‘vernacular’ and ‘everyday’ via the mutual interest in biographical narratives of the self and the work that they do politically

ReMobile home: an exploration of mobile homes in rural North Carolina

Mobile homes are a ubiquitous site in the Southern rural landscape. In rural and suburban regions across the United States, mobile homes are often the best, or only, affordable housing option for low-income and working-class individuals and families. In the U.S., 20 million people live in manufactured housing, or about 6.5 percent of the total population. In North Carolina, this figure is much higher: 14 percent of residents live in manufactured homes (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015). The prevalence of manufactured housing reflects the financial and logistical challenges of site-built construction in rural areas that lack infrastructure. The high number of mobile homes also demonstrates the lack of other affordable housing options, like multi-family residences that are common in urban areas. Approximately 12 percent of all mobile homes in the U.S. are vacant or abandoned. While no data is kept specifically for North Carolina, if this percentage holds true, that would equate to approximately 75,000 vacant or abandoned mobile homes across the state. The cost of removing and disposing of an abandoned unit can be upwards of $10,000 and it could cost approximately$750 million to remove all the existing abandoned or vacant mobile homes. ReMobile Home uses a mixed method approach to examine whether rehabilitating older, vacant, or abandoned mobile homes is a viable way to increase affordable housing options in rural North Carolina. This thesis consists of a proposed redesign of a 1974 mobile home as well a Photovoice project. Photovoice uses photographs to capture aspects of an individual's daily experience and share them with others. Individuals take their own pictures about a subject or question, and then describe their photo in either written or oral form. Participants in my project are asked the question “What makes your mobile home feel like home?” This method allows mobile home dwellers to be the experts and helps dispel some of the stigma and stereotypes about mobile homes and who lives in them. The thesis examines the complex problems and issues surrounding rehabilitating older mobile homes and seeks a better understanding of what it means to call a mobile home, ‘home.

Two Thumbs Up: Using Popular Films in Introductory Aging Courses

Good teaching requires thoughtful planning and creative thinking, especially when trying to engage students in material that is unfamiliar to them or encumbered by stereotypes, like aging. Classic and contemporary media can provide unique teaching opportunities in gerontology classrooms. Popular films can have a powerful influence over viewers’ attitudes and perceptions, and spur in-depth discussions of aging-related topics common to introductory aging courses (e.g., ageism, abuse, inequality, caregiving, healthy aging, and intimate relationships). Additionally, films appeal to multiple learning styles, engaging a variety of learners. This article examines the value of using films in introductory aging courses, offers strategies for incorporating films in the gerontology classroom, suggests sample activities and assignments that pair popular films with aging course topics, identifies challenges of using film in various classrooms settings, and provides a detailed typology of films on each of the following aging topics: ageism and stereotypes, cognitive impairment, death and dying, diversity, family relationships, health and wellness, sexuality and intimacy, and work and retirement

"Caterpillars and Butterfly" The Process of Self-Realization and Unity in Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly

Etter sitt kommersielle gjennombrudd med good kid, m.A.A.d. city i 2012, ble Kendrick Lamar regnet som den store frelseren av hip hop. Det var med andre ord store forventninger da han utga oppfølgeren To Pimp a Butterfly i 2015. Lamar levde opp til forventningene med et album som ble hyllet av både fans, kollegaer og kritikere. Resepsjonen var positiv både i lys av hans musikalske evner, men like mye for å lage musikk som gir introspektive skildringer av hvordan det er å være afro-amerikaner i nåtidens USA. Han har blitt studert i mange forskjellige fakultet i Akademia og konseptalbumet er komplekst nok til å engasjere mange forskjellige fagfelt. Til tross for at det er et konseptalbum, er det få som ser på albumet i sin helhet. Denne oppgaven tar denne retningen, og ser på hvordan To Pimp a Butterfly viser en mann i en selv-realiserende prosess. Etter å ha introdusert min problemstilling, albumet og dets resepsjon, ser jeg i andre kapittel på hvordan denne prosessen blir presentert i to dikt som Lamar leser høyt i slutten av albumet. Jeg viser hvordan det ene diktet, som jeg har kalt «spoken-word poem», strukturerer albumet ved å gradvis tilføye nye linjer som skildrer Lamar sin personlige utvikling. Det andre diktet, «Poem of the Caterpillar and the Butterfly”, skildrer det han har lært om samfunnet han vokste opp i. Dette diktet beskriver allegorisk den selv-realiserende prosessen. Videre utforsker jeg sjangrene ‘konseptalbum’ og ‘sang syklus’ og hvordan albumet svarer på disse. Jeg sammenligner også Lamar sin fortelling med den tradisjonelle sjangeren for personlig utvikling, bildungsromanen. Videre viser jeg hvordan de to diktene konkluderer med temaet ‘samhold’. Sangen «Alright» er kjent for sine forenende egenskaper. Derfor velger jeg å analysere musikkvideoen til denne sangen gjennom multimodal teori i kapittel tre. Her viser jeg hvordan musikkvideoen gjenskaper metaforene fra diktene gjennom det visuelle. Ved å se på samspillet mellom lyd, tekst og bilde utforsker jeg hvordan videoen skaper ny mening og dybde. Samspillet gjør at videoen både oppsummerer og bygger videre på Lamar sin store suksess, To Pimp a Butterfly.Engelsk mastergradsoppgaveMAHF-LÆFRMAHF-ENGENG35