Effects of temporal variation on ambient light in Northwest Arkansas

An animal’s life success is determined solely by its fitness, which makes choosing a mate one of its most important life decisions. Natural selection plays a big part in an animal’s phenotype, but so does sexual selection. Even though females are usually thought to be the choosier sex, in many species or seasons males are also choosy. Male mate preference is an understudied topic compared to female mate preference and therefore, even less is known about the outcomes of a male’s prior mating experience’s influence on future mating experiences. Therefore, I dove deeper into this topic with the highly studied species of butterfly, Bicyclus anynana. Bicyclus anynana males have shown a predisposed preference for females with no UV-reflective spots as opposed to two UV-reflective spots on their hindwings. Given this preference, I designed a full factorial experiment to test how males allocate spermatophore to the preferred (0 spot) and unpreferred (2 spot) female phenotypes in a second mating. Male B. anynana have a cryptic preference, meaning they give a more attractive female a higher quality spermatophore, which she uses to lay more eggs. Therefore, male preference was to be assessed by the number of eggs laid by the second mated female. However, COVID-19 interrupted these plans. Due to the restrictions and shutdowns, I discontinued this project and switched to analyzing the variation in ambient light observed when butterflies make mate choice decisions in field conditions. Light measurements were collected at three sites in Northwest Arkansas over three years (2018-2020), from May to November in the morning, noon, and evening. These data were tested to assess whether time of day, site, season, and year had an effect on the total amount of light available, wavelength of peak intensity, total amount of UV light available, UV peak intensity, and wavelength of UV peak intensity. I found an effect of time of day on amount of light, with noon light environments receiving the greatest amount light and morning light environments receiving greater amounts of light than evening light environments. I also found an effect of season, as there was a decrease in amount and variation of light as the year went on. Lastly, I found an interactive effect of time of day and month, as noon light environments decreased in brightness and morning light environments increased in brightness as the year progressed. These findings suggest daily and seasonal changes in light could serve as drivers of animal behavior change

Room Blooming Red

This creative thesis explores identity and family

Do 2 with VCU: A Community Engagement Initiative

Do 2 with VCU will be a day-long Expo highlighting volunteer activities and opportunities with up to 100 community partners. VCU faculty and staff will be encouraged to collaborate with these community partners by using their 16 hours of community service leave provided by VCU. The Expo will culminate with a Keynote Speaker for this inaugural event. This year we have selected author and activist, Elaine Brown; she will deliver an address on the importance of community activism and service which will be marketed to the greater Richmond area. This project was designed around Theme IV of the VCU Quest for Distinction: “Become a national model for community engagement and regional impact.

Concert recording 2014-03-12a

[Track 01]. This nearly was mine from South Pacific / Rodgers and Hammerstein -- [Track 02]. Old man river from Showboat / Kern ; Hammerstein -- [Track 03]. Visione veneziana / Renato Brogi -- [Track 04]. Widmung / Robert Schumann -- [Track 05]. This is my beloved from Kismet / Wright ; Forrest -- [Track 06]. Vision fugitive from Herodiade / Jules Massenet -- [Track 07]. I will be loved tonight from I love you, you\u27re perfect, now change / DiPietro ; Roberts -- [Track 08]. Doin\u27 what comes natur\u27lly from Annie get your gun / Irving Berlin -- [Track 09]. I carry your heart / John Duke -- [Track 10]. Standchen / Franz Schubert -- [Track 11]. Ho capito...signor, si! from Don Giovanni / W.A. Mozart -- [Track 12]. When Fredric was a little lad from The pirates of Penzance / Gilbert and Sullivan -- [Track 13]. In trutina from Carmina burana / Carl Orff -- [Track 14]. Ombra mai fu from Serse / Handel -- [Track 15]. Younger than springtime from South Pacific / Rodgers and Hammerstein -- [Track 16]. Der Atlas / Franz Schubert

Navigating Hidden Hunger: An Exploratory Analysis of the Lived Experience of Food Insecurity among College Students

College students are a vulnerable population to food insecurity (FI), which has significant implications for academic and health outcomes. The aims of this study were to explore the meaning of FI and its impact on students’ lived experiences and food decisions, facilitators and barriers to food access as a student, and students’ proposed solutions to address FI. Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with thirty students from a large, public land grant university in the Southeast United States. Grounded theory methodology was utilized with a constant comparative coding strategy to guide thematic analysis. Nine main themes emerged. Themes included the perceived meaning of FI, students’ lived experience with FI, and food related coping strategies and decisions. Facilitators to food access were found to be social-networks and on-campus resources, while barriers to food access included financial burden of higher education, and stigma and social comparison. Proposed solutions to FI aligned with two main themes: food access solutions and information access solutions. Both of these themes included multiple subthemes that provided specific suggestions to address food insecurity for students. The findings aid in understanding the complex lived experience of FI and can inform future efforts to center student experiences, perceptions, and feedback into institutional frameworks to best meet student needs

Training the Next Generation of Engaged Researchers: Design and Pedagogy in a Graduate Course on Research Practice Partnerships

EDUC 3505 is a graduate-level course collaboratively designed, taught, and supported by faculty and students in the School of Education. Through engagement with texts, colleagues, and experienced Research-Practice Partnership (RPP) members—and hands-on participation at a practicum site—students in the course develop practical skills for navigating key RPP processes including building mutualistic relationships, negotiating research questions, applying design-based implementation research methods, and communicating about engaged research. Possibilities for RPP work are contextualized within the region, larger historical and contemporary dynamics of exploitation and racism, and multiple traditions of engaged scholarship and movements for educational justice

Sustaining Communities of Belonging: A Collaborative Research Project

The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh (CMP) has recently begun a 3 year-long effort to strengthen communities of belonging and critical consciousness among staff and visitors, using a participatory design research approach to developing equity-focused learning practices. The team of CMP research and community engagement staff leading this effort are also collaborating with a research team from Pitt’s School of Education to integrate the results of their work into the Museum’s organizational structures as part of a strategy for long-term equity focused organizational change. This poster presents the structure for their emerging work together

Phosphoinositide species and filamentous actin formation mediate engulfment by senescent tumor cells.

Cancer cells survive chemotherapy and cause lethal relapse by entering a senescent state that facilitates expression of many phagocytosis/macrophage-related genes that engender a novel cannibalism phenotype. We used biosensors and live-cell imaging to reveal the basic steps and mechanisms of engulfment by senescent human and mouse tumor cells. We show filamentous actin in predator cells was localized to the prey cell throughout the process of engulfment. Biosensors to various phosphoinositide (PI) species revealed increased concentration and distinct localization of predator PI(4) P and PI(4,5)P2 at the prey cell during early stages of engulfment, followed by a transient burst of PI(3) P before and following internalization. PIK3C2B, the kinase responsible for generating PI(3)P, was required for complete engulfment. Inhibition or knockdown of Clathrin, known to associate with PIK3C2B and PI(4,5)P2, severely impaired engulfment. In sum, our data reveal the most fundamental cellular processes of senescent cell engulfment, including the precise localizations and dynamics of actin and PI species throughout the entire process

Targeting a Potassium Channel/Syntaxin Interaction Ameliorates Cell Death in Ischemic Stroke

The voltage-gated K+ channel Kv2.1 has been intimately linked with neuronal apoptosis. After ischemic, oxidative, or inflammatory insults, Kv2.1 mediates a pronounced, delayed enhancement of K+ efflux, generating an optimal intracellular environment for caspase and nuclease activity, key components of programmed cell death. This apoptosis-enabling mechanism is initiated via Zn2+-dependent dual phosphorylation of Kv2.1, increasing the interaction between the channel's intracellular C-terminus domain and the SNARE(soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor activating protein receptor) protein syntaxin 1A. Subsequently, an upregulation of de novo channel insertion into the plasma membrane leads to the critical enhancement of K+ efflux in damaged neurons. Here, we investigated whether a strategy designed to interfere with the cell death-facilitating properties of Kv2.1, specifically its interaction with syntaxin 1A, could lead to neuroprotection following ischemic injury in vivo. The minimal syntaxin 1A-binding sequence of Kv2.1 C terminus (C1aB) was first identified via a far-Western peptide screen and used to create a protherapeutic product by conjugating C1aB to a cell-penetrating domain. The resulting peptide (TAT-C1aB) suppressed enhanced whole-cell K+ currents produced by a mutated form of Kv2.1 mimicking apoptosis in a mammalian expression system, and protected cortical neurons from slow excitotoxic injury in vitro, without influencing NMDA-induced intracellular calcium responses. Importantly, intraperitoneal administration of TAT-C1aB in mice following transient middle cerebral artery occlusion significantly reduced ischemic stroke damage and improved neurological outcome. These results provide strong evidence that targeting the proapoptotic function of Kv2.1 is an effective and highly promising neuroprotective strategy.National Institutes of Health [NS043277, DC007905, 5T32NS007433-18]; American Heart Association [16PRE29170009]6 month embargo; Published: 7 June 2017This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]