Reading Environmental Relations In Contemporary Indian Fiction In English

This dissertation is concerned with what environmental historian Ramachandra Guha calls a &ldquo;marriage&rdquo; of social justice and sustainability in contemporary Indian fiction in English. The project considers how Indian fiction in English represents contemporary environmental issues&mdash;including threats, crises, instability, and injustice&mdash;as interwoven with policy legacies, culture clashes, and communal activities. I focus on the textual relationships between the human and the non-human that evolving socioeconomic and political contexts in India place in flux, such as the fight for Dalit and Adivasi rights and representation amid calls for environmental conservation. Following from materialist ecocriticism (Alaimo, Iovino and Oppermann, etc.), I explore how humans and nonhumans alike are given agency in the texts, how characters cross into primarily nonhuman spaces, how they reassess themselves as both individuals and parts of human-nonhuman collectives, and/or how their sense of self is informed and destabilized by the nonhuman elements around and passing through them. Rather than a specific generic or authorial investigation, I seek to privilege the environment itself as interrelational and continually remade, despite being physically and discursively segmented by human action and representation. To this end, the dissertation is organized around specific environmental resources and concerns in India, including forests, rivers, animals, and climate change, though each chapter does privilege one primary Indian English novel. I then intervene in current ecocritical and social justice discourse by using ecology as a lens to examine representations of those resources and concerns within the texts, which in turn combine mythology, history, and environmental justice narratives. I argue that the inherently relational nature of ecology, which the literature helps illuminate, challenges the anthropocentrism, androcentrism, and classism inherent in Indian environmental policy and politics and, more broadly, also allows us to reconsider humanity&rsquo;s ethical presence on the earth. Through this study, I reconceptualize what environmental humanities critic Rob Nixon calls &ldquo;site-specific struggles&rdquo; of environmental injustice while also considering broader cultural and sociopolitical implications.</p

“We’ll Do It Live”: Building Access to Video Content Based on Freedoms of Use

Film collections in academic libraries, including streaming video and DVDs, serve a variety of user populations and needs. Videos are used by faculty as part of instruction, by student clubs or other groups as part of public programming, and by individuals for personal study or entertainment. These various use situations are addressed by the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. sec. 101 et seq., and license agreements that accompany video purchases. To maximize use of video collections, and by extension, funds expended on video collections, libraries need to fully understand their rights under the law, track video licenses, and build access around freedoms to stream and publicly display videos. The George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida undertook a project to identify videos acquired with public performance or streaming licenses and better communicate the existence and meaning of these licenses to users. This project included new workflows for cataloging and acquisitions, training for library faculty and staff on uses of video allowed under the Copyright Act and when a license should be obtained, and proposal of a front-end search and browsing discovery interface for users to find video content by public performance and streaming rights. This paper discusses the mechanics of acquiring, cataloging, and making discoverable video content based on freedoms of use

Biosynthesis of amino acids by Oxalobacter formigenes: analysis using 13C-NMR

The gram-negative anaerobe Oxalobacter formigenes, grows on oxalate as the principal carbon and energy source, but a small amount of acetate is also required for growth. Experiments were conducted to determine the distribution and the position of label in cellular amino acids from cells grown on [13C]oxalate, [13C]acetate (1-13C, 2-13C, and U-13C), and 13CCO3. The labeling pattern (determined with NMR spectroscopy) of amino acids was consistent with their formation through common biosynthetic pathways. The majority of the carbons in the amino acids that are usually derived from pyruvate, oxaloacetate, α-ketoglutarate, 3-phosphoglycerate, and carbon in the aromatic amino acids were labeled by oxalate. Carbon from 13CO3 was assimilated primarily into amino acids expected to be derived from oxaloacetate and α-ketoglutarate. Approximately 60% of the acetate that was assimilated into amino acids was incorporated as a C2 unit into proline, arginine, glutamate, and leucine. The pattern of labeling from acetate in glutamate, arginine, and proline was consistent with acetate incorporation via citrate (si)-synthase and subsequent formation of α-ketoglutarate via the first third of the tricarboxylic acid pathway. Acetate was also assimilated into amino acids derived from pyruvate and oxaloacetate, but results indicated that this incorporation was as single carbon atoms. Based on these findings, cell-free extracts were assayed for several key biosynthetic enzymes. Enzymatic activities found included glutamate dehydrogenase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, and pyruvate carboxylase. These findings are consistent with proposed biosynthetic mechanisms

State laws on tobacco control – United States, 1998

Problem/Condition: State laws addressing tobacco use, the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, are summarized. Laws address smoke-free indoor air, minors’ access to tobacco products, advertising of tobacco products, and excise taxes on tobacco products. Reporting Period Covered: Legislation effective through December 31, 1998. Description of System: CDC identified laws addressing tobacco control by using an on-line legal research database. CDC’s findings were verified with the National Cancer Institute’s State Cancer Legislative Database. Results: Since a previous surveillance summary on state tobacco-control laws published in November 1995 (covering legislation effective through June 30, 1995), several states have enacted new restrictions or strengthened existing legislation that addresses smoke-free indoor air, minors’ access to tobacco, tobacco advertising, and tobacco taxes. Five states strengthened their smoke-free indoor air legislation. All states and Washington, D.C., continued to prohibit the sale and distribution of tobacco products to minors; however, 21 states expanded minors’ access laws by designating enforcement authorities, adding license suspension or revocation for sale to minors, or requiring signage. Since the 1995 report, eight additional states (a total of 19 states and Washington, D.C.) now ban vending machines from areas accessible to minors. Thirteen states restrict advertising of tobacco products, an increase of four states since the 1995 report. Although the number of states that tax cigarettes and smokeless tobacco did not change, 13 states increased excise taxes on cigarettes, and five states increased excise taxes on smokeless tobacco products. The average state excise tax on cigarettes is 38.9¢ per pack, an increase of 7.4¢ compared with the average tax in the 1995 report. Interpretation: State laws addressing tobacco control vary in relation to restrictiveness, enforcement and penalties, preemptions, and exceptions. Actions Taken: The data summarizing state tobacco-control laws are available through CDC’s State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System*; the laws are collected and updated every quarter. The STATE System also contains statespecific data on the prevalence of tobacco use, tobacco-related deaths, and the costs of tobacco use. Information from the STATE System is available for use by policy makers at the state and local levels to plan and implement initiatives to prevent and reduce tobacco use. In addition, CDC is using this information to assess the ongoing impact of tobacco-control programs and policies on tobacco use

The Grizzly, February 10, 2011

Bonners Give Insight on Organization • Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity to Participate in Spring Intake • Future UC President Dr. Bobby Fong Receives National Award • Ursinus College Plays Host to W. R. Crigler • GRE Makeover and Helpful Hints to Ace the Test • Calvin Levels Performs One Man Show in the Blackbox • New Program Brings Students and Professors Closer • Internship Profile: Matt Angle • Opinion: UC Town Hall Meeting Proved a Bit Disappointing; Letter to a Writer; A Multicultural Ursinus Campus on the Way; Upheaval in the Middle East: Why Students Should Care • Murren Adds Name to History Books During Seasonhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1829/thumbnail.jp

The Grizzly, February 4, 2011

Hate Crime Discussed During Meeting • What is Love Course has Students Talking • Dolce Suono Ensemble Performs at Ursinus • Community Survey Results • UC-Rising Debuts • Presenting the Best and Worst of Ursinus College • Campus Activities Board Packs Semester with Great Fun • First African-American Graduate to be Honored • Internship Profile: Maria Linder • Winter Birthright Trip Proves to be Worthwhile • Recent Winter Weather is Anything But a Wanted Wonderland • Opinions: President Obama Attempts to Reach out to U.S. • UC Basketball Seniors Approaching End of Seasonhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1828/thumbnail.jp

The Grizzly, February 24, 2011

Greek Recruitment Week Underway • Collegiate Learning Assessment for Graduating Students • Kwesi Koomson Talks About Heritage Academy in Ghana • Sexy Talk with a Twist of Love and Revolution • Birthright Provides Unique Experience • The Women of Whitians Honor Society Make Moves • WeCan Attempts to Bring Change to UC Dining Services • Relay for Life Recruits for a Strong Turnout • Internship Profile: Chris Michael • Positive Changes Made to SPINT • Diversity Column: Language of Race • Opinions: Egypt President Falls, Other Countries Hopeful • Men\u27s Basketball Season Ends on Sour Note • Men\u27s Club Soccer Team Seeks New Membershttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1831/thumbnail.jp

Abundance and Distribution of Enteric Bacteria and Viruses in Coastal and Estuarine Sediments—a Review

The long term survival of fecal indicator organisms (FIOs) and human pathogenic microorganisms in sediments is important from a water quality, human health and ecological perspective. Typically, both bacteria and viruses strongly associate with particulate matter present in freshwater, estuarine and marine environments. This association tends to be stronger in finer textured sediments and is strongly influenced by the type and quantity of clay minerals and organic matter present. Binding to particle surfaces promotes the persistence of bacteria in the environment by offering physical and chemical protection from biotic and abiotic stresses. How bacterial and viral viability and pathogenicity is influenced by surface attachment requires further study. Typically, long-term association with surfaces including sediments induces bacteria to enter a viable-but-non-culturable (VBNC) state. Inherent methodological challenges of quantifying VBNC bacteria may lead to the frequent under-reporting of their abundance in sediments. The implications of this in a quantitative risk assessment context remain unclear. Similarly, sediments can harbor significant amounts of enteric viruses, however, the factors regulating their persistence remains poorly understood. Quantification of viruses in sediment remains problematic due to our poor ability to recover intact viral particles from sediment surfaces (typically <10%), our inability to distinguish between infective and damaged (non-infective) viral particles, aggregation of viral particles, and inhibition during qPCR. This suggests that the true viral titre in sediments may be being vastly underestimated. In turn, this is limiting our ability to understand the fate and transport of viruses in sediments. Model systems (e.g., human cell culture) are also lacking for some key viruses, preventing our ability to evaluate the infectivity of viruses recovered from sediments (e.g., norovirus). The release of particle-bound bacteria and viruses into the water column during sediment resuspension also represents a risk to water quality. In conclusion, our poor process level understanding of viral/bacterial-sediment interactions combined with methodological challenges is limiting the accurate source apportionment and quantitative microbial risk assessment for pathogenic organisms associated with sediments in aquatic environments

Does Community Context Have an Important Impact on Divorce Risk? A Fixed-Effects Study of Twenty Norwegian First-Marriage Cohorts

The decision to divorce may be affected by the characteristics of the local community. Community characteristics may be barriers to divorce, or they may increase the attractiveness of divorcing (e.g., access to a good remarriage market), but our knowledge of such influences is sparse. This study examines two such community-level factors: socio-economic conditions and the local marriage market. In this study, discrete-time hazard models with community-level fixed effects are estimated using register-based data on Norwegian first marriages during the period from 1980 to 1999, with longitudinal information on both the community and couple levels (N = 283,493). The results show that there are important community-level influences on couples’ divorce risk, but these change dramatically when fixed effects are introduced

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy