A Social Ontological Account of Alienation and Its Place in the History of Alienation Theory

Alienation is a sociological term that has found itself severely out of favor as an analytical concept due to what are perceived as inextricable theoretical shortcomings despite having once enjoyed a time when it was taken to be essential for a robust and critical analysis of society. This dissertation looks to contribute to a revitalization of alienation theory by offering an understanding of alienation that is grounded in the framework of social ontology as forwarded in the works of John Searle. This social ontological account conceives of alienation as a fallout fact that arises when there is a performative contradiction between the enactment of a deontic power and the collective recognition of the status function that made possible that self-same deontic power in the first place. Framing alienation in this way provides the means for resolving those central aporias that have otherwise stymied its more widespread usage, namely, the question of alienation theory’s fundamental unity, the division between objective and subjective approaches, and the term’s normative status. The second half of the project is then dedicated to a critical engagement between the social ontological account and the long and diverse history of alienation theory beginning with its pre-philosophical uses and continuing into its philosophical appropriation in the 19th Century, its golden era in the mid-20th Century, and finally its place in second- and third-wave Critical Theory

The Highest Good and the Best Activity: Aristotle on the Well-Lived Life

The question of how Aristotle characterizes eudaimonia, or living-well, in the Nicomachean Ethics has long been a contentious issue amongst Aristotelian scholars. The secondary literature has been roughly divided between inclusivist readers, who argue that Aristotle designates both theoria, or contemplation, and the practical virtues, and exclusivist readers, who argue that Aristotle singles out theoria alone. This thesis seeks to forge a middle ground between these two perspectives by focusing on the central claim of Book I that the eudaimonia is virtuous activity. Reading Book X in light of Book I\u27s claim then allows one to show that both the practical virtues and theoria are able to attain eudaimonia, and that the well-lived life will be one that draws upon both activities

Identification of Alfalfa Chromosomes Using Giemas Banding and Image Analysis Techniques

Chromosomes of two diploid (2n=2x=16) subspecies of Medicago sativa, ssp. caerulea and ssp. falcata, their hybrid and tetraploid (2n=4x=32) cultivated alfalfa (M. sativa, ssp. sativa) were studied. Feulgen’s staining, C- and N-banding techniques and an image analysis system were used. The chromosomes of ssp. falcata have only centromeric bands, however, a multitude of bands were observed in both the C- and N-banding pattern of ssp. caerulea and ssp. sativa enabling the precise identification of each of the eight sets of chromosomes and development of a karyotype. The differences in banding patterns between the diploid subspecies makes it possible to identify hybrids between these subspecies. Karyotypic analysis of tetraploid alfalfa revealed that alfalfa has four nearly identical sets of chromosomes based on their identical chromosome morphology and C-banding patterns, thus providing support that alfalfa is an autotetraploid

Utilization of SSR to Distinguish Alfalfa Cultivars

Simple sequence repeat (SSR) or microsatellite markers are co-dominant, abundant and hyper-variable molecular markers from eukaryotic genomes that are being widely used in genetic mapping and phylogenetic studies. Currently, the number of available SSR markers is still very limited for use in alfalfa (Medicago sativa). Thus, this study was conducted to develop SSR from alfalfa genomic libraries and EST and BAC sequence data from M. truncatula for use in distinguishing the nine historically recognized U.S. germplasm sources and eleven fall dormancy check cultivars of alfalfa

The Operophtera brumata Nucleopolyhedrovirus (OpbuNPV) Represents an Early, Divergent Lineage within Genus Alphabaculovirus

Operophtera brumata nucleopolyhedrovirus (OpbuNPV) infects the larvae of the winter moth, Operophtera brumata. As part of an effort to explore the pesticidal potential of OpbuNPV, an isolate of this virus from Massachusetts (USA)—OpbuNPV-MA—was characterized by electron microscopy of OpbuNPV occlusion bodies (OBs) and by sequencing of the viral genome. The OBs of OpbuNPV-MA consisted of irregular polyhedra and contained virions consisting of a single rod-shaped nucleocapsid within each envelope. Presumptive cypovirus OBs were also detected in sections of the OB preparation. The OpbuNPV-MA genome assembly yielded a circular contig of 119,054 bp and was found to contain little genetic variation, with most polymorphisms occurring at a frequency of \u3c 6%. A total of 130 open reading frames (ORFs) were annotated, including the 38 core genes of Baculoviridae, along with five homologous repeat (hr) regions. The results of BLASTp and phylogenetic analysis with selected ORFs indicated that OpbuNPV-MA is not closely related to other alphabaculoviruses. Phylogenies based on concatenated core gene amino acid sequence alignments placed OpbuNPV-MA on a basal branch lying outside other alphabaculovirus clades. These results indicate that OpbuNPV-MA represents a divergent baculovirus lineage that appeared early during the diversification of genus Alphabaculovirus

Amplification, contraction and genomic spread of a satellite DNA family (E180) in Medicago (Fabaceae) and allied genera

Background and AimsSatellite DNA is a genomic component present in virtually all eukaryotic organisms. The turnover of highly repetitive satellite DNA is an important element in genome organization and evolution in plants. Here we assess the presence and physical distribution of the repetitive DNA E180 family in Medicago and allied genera. Our goals were to gain insight into the karyotype evolution of Medicago using satellite DNA markers, and to evaluate the taxonomic and phylogenetic signal of a satellite DNA family in a genus hypothesized to have a complex evolutionary history.MethodsSeventy accessions from Medicago, Trigonella, Melilotus and Trifolium were analysed by PCR to assess the presence of the repetitive E180 family, and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used for physical mapping in somatic chromosomes.Key ResultsThe E180 repeat unit was PCR-amplified in 37 of 40 taxa in Medicago, eight of 12 species of Trigonella, six of seven species of Melilotus and in two of 11 Trifolium species. Examination of the mitotic chromosomes revealed that only 13 Medicago and two Trigonella species showed FISH signals using the E180 probe. Stronger hybridization signals were observed in subtelomeric and interstitial loci than in the pericentromeric loci, suggesting this satellite family has a preferential genomic location. Not all 13 Medicago species that showed FISH localization of the E180 repeat were phylogenetically related. However, nine of these species belong to the phylogenetically derived clade including the M. sativa and M. arborea complexes.ConclusionsThe use of the E180 family as a phylogenetic marker in Medicago should be viewed with caution. Its amplification appears to have been produced through recurrent and independent evolutionary episodes in both annual and perennial Medicago species as well as in basal and derived clades

Insights Into the Feeding Behaviors and Biomechanics of \u3ci\u3eVarroa destructor\u3c/i\u3e Mites on Honey Bee Pupae Using Electropenetrography and Histology

Feeding behaviors and biomechanics of female Varroa destructor mites are revealed from AC-DC electropenetrography (EPG) recordings of mites feeding from Apis mellifera honey bee pupae and histology of mite internal ingestion apparatus. EPG signals characteristic of arthropod suction feeding (ingestion) were identified for mites that fed on pupae during overnight recordings. Ingestion by these mites was confirmed afterwards by observing internally fluorescent microbeads previously injected into their hosts. Micrographs of internal ingestion apparatus illustrate the connection between a gnathosomal tube and a pharyngeal lumen, which is surrounded by alternating dilator and constrictor muscles. Inspection of EPG signals showed the muscularized mite pharyngeal pump operates at a mean repetition rate of 4.5 cycles/s to ingest host fluids. Separate feeding events observed for mites numbered between 23 and 33 over approximately 16 h of recording, with each event lasting ~10 s. Feeding events were each separated by ~2 min. Consecutive feeding events separated by either locomotion or prolonged periods of quiescence were grouped into feeding bouts, which ranged in number from one to six. Statistical analyses of EPG data revealed that feeding events were prolonged for mites having lower pharyngeal pump frequencies, and mites having prolonged feeding events went unfed for significantly more time between feeding events. These results suggest that mites may adjust behaviors to meet limitations of their feeding apparatus to acquire similar amounts of food. Data reported here help to provide a more robust view of Varroa mite feeding than those previously reported and are both reminiscent of, as well as distinct from, some other acarines and fluid-feeding insects

A contribution to the knowledge of Quadraseta brasiliensis Goff and Gettinger, 1989 (Trombidiformes: Trombiculidae), with description of the deutonymph instar

In the Neotropical region the genus Quadraseta Brennan, 1970, includes 14 species, with ectoparasitic habits during the larval stage. Quadraseta brasiliensis Goff and Gettinger, 1989, was described from larvae collected on the rodent Hylaeamys megacephalus (Fisher), cited as Oryzomys capito (Olfers). According to these authors, the holotype was deposited in the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo and the paratypes were deposited in three other collections: Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and United States National Museum of Natural History, however, no type specimens were found in any of these museums. Here we redescribe the larva, describe the deutonymph instar obtained from field-collected larvae, and report new hosts and localities for this species in Brazil. In addition we provide sequences of the 18S ribosomal RNA gene for this species

A new species of Zambedania (Acari : Heterostigmatina : Pygmephoridae) from the two rivers platinum mine in South Africa and notes on the life-cycle of the genus

A new species of relatively poorly known genus Zambedania Mahunka, 1972 was found on the baboon spider, Harpactirella overdijki Gallon, 2010 (Araneae: Theraphosidae) in South Africa. Besides the abundantly available phoretic females, several males and one larva of this species in the spiders’ nests were also collected. Zambedania sekhukhunensis n. sp. is described and illustrated based on the phoretic females, males and larva. Improved diagnosis of the genus and a new key to species are also supplied. The descriptions and illustrations of the male and larva of this species represent the first ones of these stages in the genus Zambedania. Due to their discovery the generic diagnosis has been significantly improved.This paper is part of a South Africa/ Poland Research Cooperation Programme.The National Research Foundation of South Africa through the University of the Witwatersrand and Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education through the A. Mickiewicz University (Poznań).http://www.zoologicalstudies.comam2017Zoology and Entomolog